‘They tortured and killed my son’: Mother of Suvendu Adhikari’s aide breaks down after Bengal shooting
The Statesman | 8 May 2026
BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari’s close aide and personal assistant, Chandranath Rath, was shot dead near Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas on Wednesday night, triggering sharp political reactions in West Bengal just days after the Assembly election results.
Rath, 42, was among the most trusted members of Adhikari’s inner circle and had worked closely with the Leader of Opposition for years. His killing has intensified the already charged political atmosphere in the state, with the BJP alleging targeted political violence after its sweeping electoral victory.
Visuals from Barasat on Thursday showed Rath’s body being taken to the hospital for post-mortem, while police also seized a car linked to the alleged suspects in the case. Officials said the attack was carried out by bike-borne assailants near Madhyamgram late Wednesday night.
At Chandipur in Purba Medinipur, Rath’s mother, Hasirani Rath, demanded strict punishment for those behind the killing, while accusing members of the ruling party of creating a threatening environment after the election results.
“I want the guilty to be punished. I am a mother, I do not want them to be hanged. I want life imprisonment for them,” she said.
Claiming that her son was targeted because of the BJP’s rise in the state, she alleged, “Those from the ruling party who were making various provocative comments, who were saying that after the 4th, the fathers of Delhi will not be able to save us, so after the 4th, they showed it.”
She further said that the family had been under pressure ever since Suvendu Adhikari defeated Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram in the 2021 Assembly elections.
“If my son had died in an accident, I would not have been so sad. The way the miscreants tortured and killed my son, these are all stories made up by the Trinamool,” she alleged.
Rath, a former Indian Air Force serviceman, hailed from East Midnapore, the home district of the Adhikari family. According to IANS, he had served in the Air Force for nearly 18 years before joining Adhikari full-time in 2019.
Over the years, he became a key figure in managing Adhikari’s political and organisational work, from coordinating schedules and meetings to handling communication and official files.
Even after Adhikari switched from the Trinamool Congress to the BJP ahead of the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, Rath continued to work closely with him and remained part of his core team after Adhikari became Leader of Opposition.
People close to the family said Rath had a spiritual side and had once expressed a desire to become a monk during his student years.
Police have started an investigation into the killing and seized a vehicle linked to the suspected attackers. No official statement on arrests had been issued till the filing of this report.
The incident comes at a time when political tensions remain high in West Bengal following the Assembly election outcome.