Bhubaneswar, Mar 3 (IANS): A court in Odisha on Friday rejected the state crime branch's plea to examine the mental condition of Gopal Das, an accused in the minister Naba Das murder case, at Nimhans in Bengaluru.

According to sources, the Odisha crime branch sought permission of the district and session court, Jharsuguda, to send the accused to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience (NIMHANS) in Bengaluru to undergo various psychological tests.

However, the court rejected the plea of the police.

A lower court had earlier rejected the same prayer of the crime branch on February 20.

The crime branch wanted to conduct a comprehensive psychological evaluation of accused Gopal Das at Nimhans.

In a media statement, the crime branch (CB) has earlier said that the accused had a prolonged history of mental illness. Taking that into consideration, a special medical board was constituted consisting of four psychiatric experts.

After examining the accused, the board opined that there is a need to have a detailed examination of the accused to come to a definite conclusion about his mental health.

Accordingly, the crime branch police moved one court to another to get permission for Das's mental evaluation at Nimhans, sources said.

Notably, minister Naba Das was killed by the sacked police ASI Gopal Das on January 29.

The former police officer had fired a bullet on the chest of the minister from a very close range.

Though the police arrested the accused from the spot, it is yet to find out the motive behind the high-profile murder case.