Chandranath Rath, Suvendu Adhikari’s personal assistant, was shot at point-blank range by unidentified assailants on a bike on Wednesday night.
BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday said the killing of his personal assistant (PA), Chandranath Rath, was a “pre-planned murder” and alleged that the killers had carried out “recce for two to three days”.
Rath, 41, was shot at point-blank range by unidentified assailants on a bike in Madhyamgram in Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district on Wednesday night.
Speaking to reporters outside the hospital where Rath was taken after the attack, Adhikari said the incident was a “cold-blooded murder”.
“The incident is heart-wrenching; we condemn the incident,” he said.
Adhikari said Bengal Director General of Police Siddh Nath Gupta had assured him that the matter would be investigated thoroughly.
“The way the attack was executed clearly suggests that the assailants had done a recce beforehand,” he alleged.
He said that Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar, a former West Bengal BJP president, has spoken to Rath’s family.
“This is the result of 15 years of Maha-Jungle Raj… BJP will start the cleansing work of the goons here,” Adhikari, whose BJP registered a historic win in the Bengal assembly elections on Monday, said.
Suvendu Adhikari’s PA Chandranath Rath Was Followed
The attackers followed Chandranath Rath’s car, a Mahindra Scorpio, intercepted it, shot him through the rolled-up window from the opposite side and fled the scene, according to preliminary information.
Rath, originally from Chandipur in Purba Medinipur district, the political turf that shaped Adhikari’s rise in Bengal politics, was in the front passenger seat.
Visuals showed the front passenger seat window shattered by bullets and blood stains on the seat.
Eyewitnesses claimed the vehicle carrying Rath was first blocked near Doharia junction by a small four-wheeler, after which a biker approached his car and started firing from close range.
The occupants of the four-wheeler later abandoned the vehicle and escaped on the motorcycle. Preliminary findings suggested that the attackers came on four bikes.
The attack took place around 10.30 pm when Rath was returning to his residence in Madhyamgram. He was about 200 metres away from his home.
Rath’s driver also sustained bullet injuries and was shifted to a Kolkata hospital, where his condition is said to be critical.
Rath was then rushed to a nearby private hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
“The victim was brought dead with multiple bullet injuries on his chest, which pierced his heart, and another bullet on his abdominal area. There was no opportunity to resuscitate him,” a hospital doctor said.
Car Had Fake Number Plate
Bengal’s DGP Siddh Nath Gupta said that live rounds along with fired cartridges were recovered from the spot of the incident near Madhyamgram.
“The four-wheeler used in the crime has been seized, but it is being reported that the number plate is fake and has been tampered with,” he said.
The car, a Nissan Micra, was registered as WB74AK2270.
Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya called the killing evidence of the “total criminalisation of politics” in the state.
“This was a planned and targeted attack. By killing the PA of the outgoing leader of opposition, the assailants wanted to send a political message,” he said.
Suvendu Adhikari’s Aide Chandranath Rath Was An Air Force Veteran
Chandranath Rath, before becoming the close aide of Suvendu Adhikari, had served in the Indian Air Force.
He had spent nearly two decades in the air force after completing his studies at Rahara Ramakrishna Mission. People close to the family said Rath had once considered a spiritual life and was deeply influenced by the Ramakrishna Mission ethos during his student years.
After taking voluntary retirement from the air force, he briefly worked in the corporate sector before gradually moving into political coordination and administrative responsibilities.
