Suvendu Adhikari aide murder: Politics moving faster than the evidence

• Suvendu Adhikari has linked the murder of his former aide Chandranath Rath to the ‘bhaipo gang’, alleging Rs 2 crore was spent on the killing

• TMC and Left leaders have challenged the claim, asking why the alleged evidence has not been acted upon despite a CBI investigation

• The CBI chargesheet names 11 accused and describes an alleged multi-state contract-killing plot, but the publicly reported findings do not establish a link to Abhishek Banerjee

Politics has moved rapidly into the murder of Chandranath Rath, former personal assistant to West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, even as the investigation into the killing has produced a more complicated picture.

Adhikari on Tuesday, 15 September linked the murder to the ‘bhaipo (nephew) gang’ — a term commonly used by BJP leaders to refer to Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary and former chief minister Mamata's Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee and his associates — and alleged that Rs 2 crore had been spent on the killing.

The allegation came on the same day Adhikari accompanied Rath's mother Hasirani Rath as she filed her nomination as BJP candidate for the Nandigram Assembly by-election. The BJP's decision to field the mother of the murdered aide has put the case at the centre of the bypoll campaign.

But the Opposition has immediately questioned why the alleged political link has not emerged from the CBI investigation already underway. TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh, associated with the Kalighat TMC camp (a reference to Mamata Banerjee's Kalighat residence), questioned why the mystery surrounding Rath's death remained unresolved despite a Central agency investigating the case.

"Who is conducting the investigation? Is it a state agency or a Central agency? Both are controlled by the BJP," Ghosh said.

He also questioned Adhikari's decision to make the allegation now. "If you possess information or evidence regarding the matter, why haven't you taken action all this time?" he asked.

Ghosh further pointed to Adhikari's position as chief minister and his charge of the police portfolio. "He is the chief minister and also holds the police portfolio. Yet, despite the passage of so much time, the mystery behind this man's death remains unsolved!" he said.

Left leader Shatarup Ghosh also questioned the timing of Adhikari's allegation, describing it as "absurd" for the chief minister to claim that the "bhaipo and his gang" were responsible for Rath's murder, particularly so soon after the TMC was voted out of power.

"TMC leaders and workers were being attacked after the election, making it difficult to believe they were behind the incident, especially when around 2.5 lakh security personnel were deployed to protect BJP leaders and their associates at the time," he said.

What the CBI chargesheet says

The CBI has already filed its first chargesheet in the case. Contrary to some reports that referred to 12 accused, the agency's formal chargesheet filed in August names 11 people, all of whom were reported to be in judicial custody at the time, while another accused remained absconding.

Rath, a 41-year-old former Air Force officer, was shot dead inside his vehicle in Madhyamgram on 6 May, two days after the West Bengal Assembly election results were declared.

According to the CBI's reconstruction, the killing involved an alleged multi-state network, with local planners and contract shooters from Uttar Pradesh. Brothers Sagar Sonkar and Sahib Sonkar were among those arrested. The agency has described Sagar as a key conspirator who allegedly helped plan and orchestrate the killing.

The CBI has alleged that the accused tracked Rath's movements, carried out reconnaissance, arranged vehicles and logistics and maintained communication with the alleged shooters.

A detailed account of the chargesheet also points to a financial trail. According to the CBI's reconstruction, Rs 30 lakh was allegedly handed over on 24 February in Jamtara, Jharkhand, as part of the conspiracy. Investigators have also alleged that money was subsequently distributed among people involved in the operation and used for vehicles and other logistics.

That figure is significantly different from the Rs 2 crore that Adhikari has now publicly claimed was spent on the killing.

More importantly, the publicly reported details of the chargesheet do not establish a direct link to Abhishek Banerjee.

The CBI has, however, said it was probing possible political links. According to reports on the chargesheet, investigators found that some of the accused had 'links with the Opposition camp' and were in contact with political functionaries. Those allegations and lines of investigation do not by themselves establish that Abhishek Banerjee or the TMC leadership ordered or financed Rath's killing.

Rath's mother enters political contest

Hasirani Rath has herself expressed suspicion about the circumstances surrounding her son's death and has echoed the belief that the ‘bhaipo gang’ was involved.

Her decision to enter electoral politics is entirely her own, but the circumstances mean that a personal tragedy has now become part of a high-stakes electoral contest.

Political observer Sujit Chatterjee said the development raises a broader democratic question about the use of grief and unresolved criminal cases during election campaigns. "The BJP's decision to field a bereaved mother is entirely lawful, and she has her own political history and agency," he said. "But placing a bereaved mother at the centre of a campaign while the precise motive for her son's murder remains unresolved inevitably creates a powerful emotional narrative."

"The political question is whether the focus will remain on obtaining answers or whether the murder will primarily become an electoral symbol," he added.

Questions from Adhikari's political past

The Rath murder has also revived scrutiny of other deaths involving people who had worked closely with Adhikari.

Pradip Jha, who served as Adhikari's personal assistant and political secretary when he was a TMC MP, was found unconscious on Strand Road in Kolkata in August 2013 and declared dead at Medical College and Hospital.

In 2018, Subhabrata Chakraborty, a member of Adhikari's security detail, was found dead at a police barracks in Contai with a gunshot wound to the head. The death was initially treated as a suicide involving his service revolver. His wife subsequently sought a fresh investigation, alleging that he had been murdered, following which the CID took over the probe in 2021.

The cases are separate and there is no established evidence linking those deaths to Rath's murder. But their recurrence has prompted questions about whether earlier investigations were sufficiently exhaustive and whether any outstanding issues in those cases warrant renewed scrutiny.