Aide’s murder throws focus back on mystery deaths around Suvendu Adhikari

The murder of Chandranath Rath, executive assistant to BJP leader and outgoing leader of opposition in the Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, triggered a fierce political slugfest in West Bengal on Thursday, 7 May. As the BJP accused the Trinamool Congress of orchestrating a “revenge killing” for the recent Assembly election defeat, the controversy also brought renewed attention to the mysterious deaths of three other close associates of Adhikari over the past decade.

Smarting from their humiliating defeat in the Assembly elections, the BJP alleged, TMC leaders had hired assassins to target Adhikari, who defeated three-time chief minister Mamata Banerjee from the Bhabanipur constituency in Kolkata by a margin of over 15,000 votes.

TMC leaders, while condemning the killing, denied the allegations, claiming that the party had little to gain from the assassination. Rath’s family members, however, alleged that he possessed sensitive information relating to corruption in the outgoing government, illegal sand mining operations, criminal syndicates and various financial scams.

They further claimed that Rath was privy to politically sensitive information and was therefore silenced. Others believe the killing was intended as a warning to Adhikari, who is considered one of the frontrunners for the chief minister’s post.

An emotional Adhikari said, “His only crime was being the personal assistant to Suvendu Adhikari.” Describing the murder of his aide on Wednesday evening as “cold-blooded” and “premeditated”, he claimed that for the past two or three days, a vehicle bearing a fake number plate had been moving around the area. “Had I not defeated the chief minister in Bhabanipur, perhaps this young man would still be alive today,” he added.

He also appealed for calm. “I appeal to all BJP workers and supporters across the state: please do not take the law into your own hands,” he said.

At Rath’s ancestral home in Kulup village in East Medinipur, grief quickly gave way to fury. His 69-year-old mother Hasirani Rath alleged that her son had been murdered as an act of political revenge. Fighting back tears, she said, “Those who were in power have carried out what they threatened.”

Referring to inflammatory campaign rhetoric during the election period, she remarked, “Now that we have come to power, those who made those fiery speeches have fulfilled their threats.” It is widely believed that her remarks were directed at TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee.

BJP leader Arjun Singh alleged police complicity in the murder. He claimed the attackers appeared to have tracked Rath through technological surveillance and added, “Nowadays reconnaissance is technology-driven. Mobile phones can easily be tracked.”

The murder has also revived political controversy surrounding the violent deaths of three other aides of Adhikari since 2013, two of them coming while he was still a trusted lieutenant of Mamata Banerjee in the TMC.

In 2013, Adhikari’s former political secretary and personal assistant, Pradip Jha, was found unconscious on Strand Road in Kolkata and later died in hospital. Although the post-mortem cited asphyxiation linked to alcohol consumption, serious questions arose after his mobile phone disappeared and cash was reportedly missing from his wallet. His family alleged murder, but the case remained unresolved.

Five years later, in 2018, Adhikari’s long-serving bodyguard Shubhabrata Chakraborty was found with gunshot wounds inside police barracks opposite Adhikari’s residence in Kanthi. The death was initially described as a suicide, but Chakraborty’s wife later alleged murder and demanded a CID investigation. No arrests have been made in that case either.

In 2021, another aide of Adhikari, Pulak Lahiri, was found dead under suspicious circumstances. His family members alleged foul play, but the case was eventually buried.

“After the death of his bodyguard in 2018, police had received a complaint from his wife against Suvendu Adhikari, following which a CID investigation was initiated. But due to a court order, the investigation could not proceed as the court granted immunity to Adhikari,” TMC sources said.

The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, further claimed that the timing of Rath’s assassination suggested that someone wanted Adhikari’s past to come under scrutiny and thereby damage his prospects for the state's top post.

Was Rath killed because of what he knew? Was the murder prompted by personal or political rivalry? Were financial dealings behind the brutal targeted killing? Why do mysterious deaths continue to surround individuals closely associated with Adhikari? Several such questions remain unanswered even as the state grapples with retaliatory violence, road blockades and inflammatory speeches.