Kolkata: In a major breakthrough in the sensational murder case of Chandranath Rath, personal assistant to West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, police have arrested three suspected shooters from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar after tracking a crucial UPI transaction linked to the attackers.
According to investigators, Rath was ambushed near his residence in Madhyamgram on May 6 when a Nissan Micra allegedly blocked his SUV before armed assailants opened fire at close range. The attack lasted barely 50 seconds but was executed with “military-style precision”, raising suspicions of a professionally planned contract killing.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) later traced a digital payment made at a toll plaza, which eventually led officers to suspects hiding in Bihar’s Buxar and Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia districts. Police identified the arrested men as Mayank Raj Mishra, Vicky Maurya and Raj Singh. One of them is said to be a known history-sheeter with multiple criminal cases.
Investigators believe the killers conducted prior surveillance on Rath’s movements before carrying out the attack using sophisticated Glock pistols. The probe has now expanded across multiple states, with police examining whether local operatives or political rivals helped coordinate the murder.
Rath’s driver, who was also injured in the firing, remains under treatment, while the SIT continues to interrogate the accused to uncover who financed and masterminded the killing.
What has made the case even more explosive is its timing — coming just days after the formation of the new BJP-led government in West Bengal, turning the murder into one of the state’s most politically sensitive investigations in recent years.