On 29 January 2023, a policeman of ASI (Assistant sub-inspector) rank, fired four or five bullets at Das as he stepped out of his car at Gandhi square. The incident took place in
Brajarajnagar,
Jharsuguda district, where the minister was to attend a meeting. He later died whilst undergoing treatment at a hospital in
Bhubaneswar. The Odisha Government ordered an inquiry into the incident. The Crime Branch took the accused policeman to the neighbouring
Sundargargh district, where senior officers, including ADG
Arun Bothra, questioned him.
"Health Minister Naba Das was admitted to Apollo with gunshot wounds to the left chest. A team of doctors led by Dr Debashish Nayak immediately attended to and operated on him. During the operation, it was found that a single bullet had entered and exited the body, injuring the heart and left lung and causing massive internal bleeding and injury. The injuries were repaired, and steps were taken to improve the pumping of the heart. He was given urgent ICU care. But despite best efforts, he could not be revived and succumbed to his injuries," the statement read. A 3-day state mourning was declared in
Odisha. According to an official statement from the Odisha government, the national flag flew at half-mast on the day of death and on the day of the funeral. ==References==