Fake number plate, shadow trail and point-blank shots: New details emerge in Suvendu Adhikari’s aide killing
The Statesman | 8 May 2026
The investigation into the killing of Chandranath Rath, a close aide and personal assistant of outgoing Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, has thrown up signs of a planned attack, with Bengal DGP Siddh Nath Gupta confirming that a fake number plate was used in the vehicle linked to the crime.
The development comes a day after Rath was shot dead near Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas, triggering a political storm in Bengal amid the tense post-poll period. BJP leaders have called it a targeted political assassination, while the Trinamool Congress has condemned the killing and demanded a court-monitored CBI probe.
Gupta, who reached Viva City Hospital in Madhyamgram around 1.30 am on Thursday, said police had recovered fired cartridge shells as well as live cartridges from the spot.
“The motorcycle used in the assassination was bearing a fake number plate. We have recovered shells of used cartridges as well as some live cartridges from the spot of the assassination. A detailed investigation into the matter is on. Right now, I am unable to disclose further details,” Gupta said, according to IANS.
Initial accounts had suggested that Rath’s car was being followed by another four-wheeler before it was blocked near Doharia crossing in Madhyamgram. However, police sources later indicated that the vehicle may have been silently shadowed by a motorcycle.
According to police insiders cited by IANS, when Rath’s car reached the crossing, a four-wheeler blocked its path, and the motorcycle rider opened fire. Investigators are now examining whether the attackers carried out a recce before the killing.
An eyewitness told ANI that the attack appeared “pre-planned” and that the shots were fired at point-blank range.
“Just as Chandra’s car crossed mine, it suddenly stopped midway, and a bike-borne person came and started shooting on the left side of the car. The person seemed to be an expert and fled immediately. It appeared to be pre-planned. The shots were fired at point-blank range. I heard the sound of two rounds. The incident occurred between 10:30 pm and 11 pm, around 200-300 metres from the hospital. The public brought the victim to the hospital, and the driver of the car was also shot,” the eyewitness told ANI.
Police have seized a vehicle in connection with the probe. Gupta also said eyewitness accounts were being recorded and evidence was being processed.
Suvendu Adhikari described Rath’s killing as a “cold-blooded and pre-planned murder” and appealed to BJP workers to maintain peace.
“This is a pre-planned murder, and this is what the DGP said. A recce was done for two to three days, and a murder was fully planned. The police initiated an investigation. We are grieving and are at a lack of words for condemning this incident,” Adhikari told reporters, according to ANI.
He said the BJP leadership in Delhi had been informed, and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar had spoken to Rath’s family and the police.
“We urge all BJP workers, supporters, and those assisting our MLAs and MPs across the state not to take the law into their own hands. We will ensure that no one is left without justice or made to feel vulnerable. We appeal to everyone to maintain peace,” Adhikari added.
Majumdar said the DGP had informed BJP leaders that “significant progress” had been made in the investigation and that those responsible would be brought to justice.
State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya alleged that Rath’s killing was part of a conspiracy by the Trinamool Congress leadership after its defeat in the recently concluded Assembly elections.
“Since the beginning, I had been saying that during the interim period between the declaration of results and the formation of the new cabinet, it is the responsibility of the ECI to ensure a peaceful law & order situation in the state. Already, Trinamool Congress-backed goons have started creating disturbances in different pockets of the state, masquerading as BJP workers. And now they have murdered the personal assistant of the outgoing leader of the opposition to send a message. I am not surprised, since this is the culture of Trinamool Congress,” Bhattacharya said, according to IANS.
BJP leader Agnimitra Paul also linked the killing to the political situation after the polls and said CCTV footage was being examined.
The TMC, however, strongly condemned Rath’s killing and demanded swift action, including a court-monitored CBI investigation.
“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,” the party said in a statement on X.
It added that violence and political killings had no place in a democracy and said the guilty must be held accountable at the earliest.
Rath, who was part of Adhikari’s core team, was returning from a party programme when he was shot. Another person, identified as Buddhadeb Bera, was injured in the firing and is undergoing treatment at Viva City Hospital in critical condition.