CBI sleuths investigating the murder of Chandranath Rath are said to have found that ₹70 lakh was given to the assailants to carry out the strike, sources said.
Three suspects were arrested till Thursday evening.
It is suspected that at least five others were involved in the murder. The person who hired the killers has yet to be established, CBI sources said.
Rath was gunned down by unknown men riding bikes seconds after a Nissan Micra blocked his vehicle’s path and trapped it in a narrow lane in Madhyamgram, close to his home, on May 6.
Rath was the personal assistant of Suvendu Adhikari, who was named the new chief minister of Bengal two days after the assassination.
Sources in the central agency said that the investigators found a lead that suggests someone located in Madhyamgram had passed on the details about Rath to the assailants through the Signal app. The app is a chat messenger difficult to track, unlike several popular ones.
“There is a lead about someone located in Madhyamgram sending Rath’s live location on the day of the incident...,” the source said.
The CBI’s SIT is looking for this suspect. The investigators believe the motive behind the murder may become clear only after this person is arrested.
Raj Singh, arrested from Ayodhya, is reportedly not cooperating with the CBI probe.
The agency is interrogating all three accused — Mayank Mishra, Vicky Maurya, and Raj Singh — who are in their custody. All three will remain in CBI custody till May 23. A CBI team is in Calcutta to carry out the probe.