The CBI on Monday arrested a fourth suspect in connection with the murder of Chandranath Rath, personal assistant to Suvendu Adhikari.
The accused, identified as Rajkumar Singh from Ballia in Uttar Pradesh, was picked up from a location between Haridwar and Delhi, investigators said.
Sources said a joint operation by the CBI and the Muzaffarnagar police led to Singh’s arrest while he was allegedly attempting to flee to Delhi early on Monday morning. Investigators said he was intercepted at the Chhapar Toll Plaza on the NH-58 highway.
The CBI has obtained transit remand for Singh and is expected to produce him before the Special CBI Court in Calcutta on Tuesday.
Rath was shot dead in Madhyamgram in North 24-Parganas by bike-borne assailants two days before the BJP announced Suvendu as Bengal’s new chief minister.
Rath’s Mahindra Scorpio was ambushed after a Nissan Micra blocked its path, allowing the motorcycles carrying the gunmen to approach and open fire.
Rath was shot multiple times at close range, with two bullets piercing his heart. He died on the spot.
The central agency had earlier arrested three men in connection with the murder.
CBI sources said Rajkumar Singh had played a “crucial role” in Rath’s murder and had been absconding since the crime.
Evidence suggested that at least four more people were present during the attack, sources said. “It was a very well-planned murder, and the assailants had ensured that they fled to different parts of the country to evade arrest,” a senior officer.