Investigators have made a significant breakthrough in the murder case of Chandranath Rath, personal assistant to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, after the Special Task Force (STF) arrested three alleged sharpshooters from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
The operations were carried out during a late-night search on Sunday by the sleuths of the STF and the CID. “We first picked up Mayank Raj Mishra and Vicky Maurya from Buxar in Bihar and after interrogating them, Raj Singh was rounded up from Ballia, Uttar Pradesh,” said a source in the STF. They were brought to Kolkata and interrogated overnight at Bhawani Bhawan, the police headquarters of several state law enforcement agencies. They are scheduled to be produced before the Barasat Court.
Chandranath Rath was shot dead at close range on the night of May 6 in Madhyamgram, North 24 Parganas. The incident occurred shortly after the BJP’s sweeping electoral victory, but before Adhikari had formally taken oath as Chief Minister.
According to investigators, the attack was highly premeditated. The assailants had conducted detailed reconnaissance of Rath’s daily movements and were aware of the exact seat he occupied inside his vehicle. On the night of the incident which lasted less than a minute, six rounds were fired, leaving Rath with critical injuries to his chest and arm. He was rushed to a hospital but was declared dead on arrival.
The STF launched a joint investigation with the CID immediately after the incident. A major lead emerged on Saturday through digital transaction records. Officials discovered that the suspects had made a UPI payment at the Bally toll plaza, Kolkata’s one of the entry and exit points. Analysis of these records helped trace their movements and establish links to Uttar Pradesh.
Acting swiftly on this information, investigators conducted an operation in UP, leading to the detention of the three suspects, believed to be contract killers. Authorities are now interrogating them to uncover the identity of those who commissioned the murder, the motive behind the crime, and the larger conspiracy.
Further investigation revealed that the vehicle used in the murder bore a fake license plate. Police suspect that the number plate was fabricated using an image from an OLX advertisement posted by a Siliguri-based car owner, indicating a high level of planning and technical execution.
From the outset, investigators had suspected the involvement of out-of-state operatives. The focus of the probe has now shifted to identifying and apprehending the masterminds behind the killing.
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