A court in Barasat, West Bengal, on Monday remanded three accused arrested in connection with the murder of Chandranath Rath, former Personal Assistant and close aide of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, to 13 days of police custody.
The accused — Mayank Raj Mishra, Vicky Maurya and Raj Singh — were produced before the court after being arrested by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The SIT informed the court that custodial interrogation was necessary to uncover the “larger conspiracy” behind the killing and identify those who allegedly planned the attack.
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Rath, a 41-year-old former Indian Air Force personnel, was shot dead on May 6 in the Madhyamgram area of North 24 Parganas. According to the FIR, Rath was travelling in a Mahindra Scorpio when the vehicle was intercepted by a Nissan Micra and two motorcycles. The attackers allegedly opened fire using an Austrian-made Glock 47X pistol. Rath died while being taken to hospital, while his driver sustained injuries.
Police said investigators traced the accused after a crucial mistake during their escape. According to the SIT, one of the suspects allegedly made a UPI payment at the Bally toll plaza on Nivedita Setu, which helped police identify a mobile number linked to accused Mayank Raj Mishra.
Investigators later examined CCTV footage from the toll plaza, confirming the identities of the suspects and revealing that the vehicle used in the crime carried a cloned registration plate linked to a Siliguri-registered car.
The accused have been booked under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including murder, organised crime and criminal conspiracy, along with provisions of the Arms Act. Meanwhile, Suvendu Adhikari described the killing as a premeditated political murder linked to recent assembly election results.
