The Nissan Micra that blocked Chandranath Rath’s Mahindra Scorpio before he was gunned down entered the city at least five hours before the “operation” and moved through parts of Barasat and New Barrackpore before heading towards the “crime scene”, police sources said.
Based on conversations with investigators and evidence collected so far, Metro has reconstructed a probable route the vehicle may have taken on Wednesday.
Airport sighting
Sources said the vehicle was first spotted near the airport’s Gate No. 2.5 late on Wednesday afternoon.
An investigator said the car was seen taking a U-turn near Arhai Number Gate. Next, it was traced through pockets of Barasat and New Barrackpore, closer to the crime scene.
The presence of the vehicle near the airport perimeter suggests it may have come via Belgharia Expressway, which crosses the Hooghly and connects National Highway 16 at Dankuni with Jessore Road (NH-12).
Barasat stop
The car was reportedly parked for some time at a location in Barasat. “It appears the car or its occupants did not do anything to attract attention. They waited without raising suspicion. We are tracking the entire route the car took before and after that,” a senior police officer said.
Sources said movement of the vehicle could not be traced across a long stretch because of non-functional CCTV cameras in parts of the route.
Standby
Around 45 minutes before the suspected time of the murder, the vehicle started moving again from Barasat and headed towards Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Road. However, it stopped again a few hundred metres short of the selected point of execution.
“It parked once more. The fact that they avoided the exact spot suggests they were aware of the narrow road and may have feared that blocking it early would draw attention from other vehicles,” a senior officer said.
The area where Rath was later killed is a leafy stretch dotted with standalone houses, residential complexes and small industrial units.
Final wait
Around 10 minutes before Rath’s vehicle was expected to pass, the silver Nissan was parked near a small goods vehicle.
“That was the only spot on the whole stretch with enough space to park. They chose it and waited for Rath’s car,” said an officer.
CCTV footage has corroborated the movement of the Nissan and two motorcycles that were trailing Rath’s car.
Attack point
Rath’s vehicle was attacked from both sides, apparently to block any escape route, in front of a factory with a green iron gate. The bullets were fired with the gun nozzle pressed against the front passenger-side windowpane, where Rath was seated. “It was precision firing,” an officer said.
At least one motorcycle was seen in CCTV footage fleeing towards Jessore Road, the officer added.
The Nissan Micra was left at the spot with its engine still running. The occupants are suspected to have escaped on the bikes.