Chandranath Rath, a close aide and personal assistant to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, was shot dead at from close range by unidentified assailants on the night of May 6 in Bengal's North 24 Parganas. Photo: PTI
From Chakraborty to Rath, Bengal sees another violent death around Adhikari’s inner circle
Both BJP and TMC trade charges over a 'pre-planned' operation, demand high-level probes in targeted killing of Chandranath Rath, killed by 15 rounds of gunfire
The killing of Chandranath Rath, a close aide and personal assistant to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, on the night of Wednesday (May 7) comes years after another controversial death involving a member of his close security circle.
Rath was shot dead near his Madhyamgram residence in what police suspect was a planned attack.
In 2018, Subhabrata Chakraborty, a security guard attached to Adhikari, died from a bullet injury in a case initially treated as suicide before a fresh probe was ordered years later.
Yet another killing
Rath’s killing also comes years after another unexplained death involving a former associate of Adhikari. In August 2013, Pradip Jha, a TMC’s youth activist who had earlier served as Adhikari’s personal assistant and political secretary, was found dead under mysterious circumstances on Kolkata’s Strand Road.
Police found him unconscious near a restaurant in the early hours before he was declared dead at a hospital. At the time, Jha’s family alleged foul play.
Chakraborty case
The Chakraborty case had triggered considerable controversy in Bengal politics years later his death after his family sought a reinvestigation into the circumstances surrounding his death. Chakraborty, a state armed police personnel who had been attached to Adhikari’s security detail since his days as a Trinamool Congress MP, was found with a bullet injury inside a police barrack in Contai in October 2018.
He died the next day at a Kolkata hospital. While the case was initially treated as suicide, his wife later raised questions over the sequence of events and demanded a more detailed probe.
Adhikari quit the TMC and joined the BJP in December 2020 ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections.
In 2021, after the TMC returned to power for a third consecutive term, the West Bengal CID took over the investigation and summoned several people linked to Adhikari’s security and political circle, including some of his close associates, as part of the inquiry.
The Calcutta High Court subsequently stayed coercive action against Adhikari in connection with the case. Against that backdrop, Rath’s killing has once again put the spotlight on another unnatural death involving someone closely associated with Adhikari.
Planned operation
According to police and BJP sources, the murder bore signs of a carefully planned operation. Rath had accompanied Adhikari in Nandigram through Wednesday evening before leaving for his Madhyamgram residence near Kolkata.
Investigators suspect the assailants had prior information about his movement, route and timing. Police sources said Rath’s SUV was intercepted in a narrow lane near Doharia, just metres away from his residence, after another vehicle blocked its path.
Armed assailants then got down and opened fire at close range. Investigators said between 12 and 15 rounds were fired and at least five bullets hit Rath.
Another person travelling in the vehicle was also injured. After ensuring Rath had died, the attackers allegedly escaped on motorcycles that had been kept ready nearby.
Investigators are examining CCTV footage and details of the vehicles used in the attack. The car that blocked Rath’s SUV was seized by the police. Sources said the vehicle carried a fake registration number and that its engine number appeared to have been tampered with.
Pre-planned murder: Adhikari
Rath had been a close aide of Adhikari since 2019 and was considered part of his inner political and organisational circle.
Adhikari described the killing as a “pre-planned murder” carried out after days of reconnaissance and said a political angle behind the attack could not be ruled out. He alleged that Rath had been under surveillance for “two to three days” before the shooting.
Senior BJP leader Kaustav Bagchi, speaking to media, directly blamed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee for the prevailing political atmosphere.
Bagchi alleged that Rath’s vehicle had been followed for some time before the attack and warned that the BJP would intensify its protest until the perpetrators were arrested.
TMC demands CBI probe
The TMC condemned the killing while demanding a court-monitored CBI probe.
In a statement, the party said, “We strongly condemn the brutal murder of Chandranath Rath in Madhyamgram tonight, along with the killing of three other TMC workers in incidents of post-poll violence allegedly carried out by BJP-backed miscreants over the last three days, despite the Model Code of Conduct being in force. We demand the strongest possible action in this matter, including a court-monitored CBI investigation so that those responsible are identified and brought to justice without delay. Violence and political killings have no place in a democracy and the guilty must be held accountable at the earliest.”
West Bengal Congress president Shubhankar Sarkar also condemned the killing and demanded a full investigation.
In a statement, Sarkar said the “bloodshed” witnessed during the Special Intensive Revision process, the two phases of polling and after the declaration of election results must stop immediately.
He said the Election Commission, which currently controls law and order arrangements during the election period, could not evade responsibility for the “volatile and disturbed atmosphere” prevailing in the state.
Sarkar also appealed for all-party peace meetings across Bengal, saying the democratic mandate of the people was being undermined by the continuing violence.
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