The CBI has taken over the investigation into the murder of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s aide Chandranath Rath and registered an FIR in the case, officials said on Tuesday, days after the West Bengal Police arrested three suspects from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in connection with the killing.
The central agency stepped in following a request from the state government and has formed a seven-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by a DIG-rank officer from Delhi. The team, comprising officers drawn from multiple CBI units, will report to the Joint Director in Kolkata. Officials said officers from the CBI’s Kolkata zone will also join the probe.
According to officials, the CBI team has already reached the crime scene and begun its investigation.
As per procedure, the agency has re-registered the FIR lodged by the state police as its own case. The investigation will now proceed independently, and the CBI will eventually file either a chargesheet or a closure report before a competent court depending on its findings.
Three arrested in murder case
Rath, the executive assistant to Adhikari, was shot dead on a public road in the Doharia area of Madhyamgram on May 6, two days after the declaration of the fiercely contested West Bengal Assembly election results.
He sustained critical injuries in the firing and was rushed to a private hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
The West Bengal Police on Monday arrested three people — two from Bihar’s Buxar and one from Ballia in Uttar Pradesh — following leads generated from a UPI transaction allegedly made at a toll plaza by one of the suspects.
"Two accused - Mayank Raj Mishra and Vicky Maurya - were detained from Buxar in Bihar, while the third one, Raj Singh, was detained from Ballia (Uttar Pradesh) on Sunday. After interrogation, all three were arrested this morning," a police officer said.
Police said the suspects have been charged with murder, criminal conspiracy, illegal possession of arms and suppression of evidence under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Investigators believe at least eight people were involved in the conspiracy and execution of the murder. Police also suspect that the attackers had carried out detailed reconnaissance before targeting Rath.
During the probe, police traced a vehicle suspected to have been used in the crime after it crossed the Bally toll plaza before the murder. One of the occupants allegedly paid the toll through a UPI transaction, which became a key lead in the investigation.
Police also clarified that one of the accused, Vicky Maurya, had earlier been wrongly identified as Vishal Srivastava.
Accused’s counsel welcomes CBI probe
Meanwhile, the counsel representing accused Raj Singh welcomed the transfer of the case to the CBI and alleged that the West Bengal Police violated legal procedure during his client’s arrest.
Advocate Harivansh Singh claimed that Raj Singh’s arrest was officially shown as having taken place in Ayodhya and said police should have obtained a transit remand from a local court before taking him to West Bengal.
Instead, he alleged, the accused was directly flown to Kolkata.
Mother alleges son was framed
Raj Singh’s mother, Jamwanti Singh, also claimed that her son had been falsely implicated in the case.
She alleged that she and her son were detained by police while returning from Ayodhya and that he was later taken to Kolkata by flight.
"Five people, including my son Raj Singh, his friend Monu Singh, a driver and a photographer, had gone there," she said, referring to a trip to Lucknow on May 7 to attend the wedding of the daughter of Member of Legislative Council Ravishankar Singh alias Pappu Singh.
According to her, the group later visited a dargah in Ambedkar Nagar district and stayed overnight at a nearby hotel.
"On the morning of May 9, after offering prayers at the shrine, we left for Ayodhya and later stopped at a roadside eatery for food. But just as we were leaving, a police team intercepted us and took us away," she said.
She further claimed that all five were detained at a police station.
"On May 10 afternoon, police allowed me to meet Raj and informed me that he was being taken to Kolkata by flight," Jamwanti Singh said.