Jharkhand link emerges in Suvendu aide Chandranath Rath’s assassination: CBI

The four-wheeler allegedly used in the assassination of Chandranath Rath, personal assistant to West Bengal opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari, was brought from neighbouring Jharkhand, according to preliminary findings of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Sources said the revelation emerged during the interrogation of one of the three arrested accused, Mayank Raj Mishra, who allegedly confessed to transporting the vehicle from Jharkhand to Barasat in North 24-Parganas district shortly before the killing.

According to investigators, Mishra told the CBI that he had been hired by a Jharkhand-based individual to deliver the four-wheeler to Barasat, close to the crime scene at Madhyamgram.

He allegedly confessed to driving the vehicle from Jharkhand and later replacing its original number plate with a fake registration plate near an abandoned location close to the Barasat rail gate.

The fake number plate, sources said, corresponded to a vehicle registered with the Regional Transport Office (RTO) in Siliguri, Darjeeling district.

Investigators also learnt that Mishra was allegedly paid Rs 1 lakh for transporting the vehicle.

After delivering the car, he reportedly travelled to Howrah Station, boarded a train to Buxar, and was later arrested there.

Rath was gunned down on the night of 6 May, just two days after the West Bengal Assembly election results were declared.

The BJP won 207 seats in the assembly polls, reducing the ruling Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress to 80 seats.

According to the probe, Rath was returning home from a party programme when his vehicle was intercepted at a crossing in Madhyamgram by the four-wheeler allegedly brought from Jharkhand.

Investigators suspect that two motorcycles had been tailing Rath’s car for some time.

As Rath’s vehicle stopped after being blocked, one of the motorcycles pulled up beside it and the rider allegedly fired around 10 rounds at close range.

Rath died on the spot, while his driver, Buddhadeb Bera, sustained critical injuries. He is currently recovering.

Following the murder, Suvendu Adhikari claimed Rath was targeted because of his close association with him.

Adhikari had said Rath “would not have been killed” had he not been the aide of the leader who defeated Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur by over 15,000 votes.

The CBI is continuing its investigation into the conspiracy, logistics and possible political links behind the assassination.

With IANS inputs