Kolkata: The grim reality of post-poll violence in West Bengal has taken yet another chilling turn. In an audacious, execution-style murder, Chandranath Rath, the personal assistant and closest confidant of senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, was shot dead late Monday night in Madhyamgram.
The brazen hit has sent shockwaves across the state’s fiercely divided political landscape, raising alarming questions about law, order, and political vendettas.
According to police sources and panicked eyewitnesses, the horrifying sequence unfolded when Rath was standing in a public space with a few acquaintances. Seizing the late-night hour, unidentified assailants closed in and fired four rounds from point-blank range. Three of those bullets struck Rath directly in the head, killing him instantly on the spot before anyone could raise an alarm.
For the past five years, Chandranath was widely recognized as Adhikari’s “shadow,” an intensely loyal lieutenant who accompanied the heavy-hitting BJP MLA everywhere. His targeted elimination is not merely a devastating personal blow to the BJP leader, but a terrifying indicator of the escalating political bloodshed sweeping across Bengal following the recent election results.
The fearless public execution of a high-profile aide points to a highly coordinated criminal effort. As the local police scramble to track down the masked assailants, tensions in the region have skyrocketed. Authorities are heavily deployed to contain any violent fallout, leaving the state’s political circles gripped by a haunting realization: in the ruthless theater of Bengal politics, even the shadows are no longer safe.