BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday claimed that his personal assistant Chandranath Rath might not have been killed had he not worked for him, and expressed confidence that police would arrest the assailants.

He alleged that contract killers were involved in the murder of Rath, and claimed that his close aide had no political enmity.

Speaking before Rath's body was taken to his native place Chandipur in Purba Medinipur district for the last rites, Adhikari asserted that the former Indian Air Force personnel was killed because of his association with him.

Adhikari was speaking to reporters at Barasat State General Hospital, where the post-mortem examination of Rath's body was conducted.

"The ex-serviceman of the Indian Air Force might not have been killed had he not been my PA and had I not won from Bhabanipur. His only fault was being Suvendu Adhikari's personal assistant. Five bullets were fired at him to ensure his death," the BJP leader said.

Senior BJP leaders, including the party's state unit president Samik Bhattacharya, paid tributes to Rath before the hearse left for Chandipur around 3 pm.

Rath was shot dead in Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas district on Wednesday night.

Referring to the probe, Adhikari said the DGP had informed him that a motorcycle allegedly used in the crime had been recovered around four kilometres away from the spot.

"Police are working. I spoke with the DGP; they have leads, and some people have been rounded up. I am confident the police will be able to arrest the assailants. CID, forensic and SIT are in action, and police are heading in the right direction," Adhikari told reporters outside the hospital.

He claimed that the police were capable of solving cases but alleged that "they were not allowed" to do so earlier, in an apparent dig at the TMC government.

When asked about the TMC's demand for a CBI inquiry into the killing, Adhikari said, "There is no relevance of the TMC now. Police will be able to solve this."

The BJP leader urged the police to identify everyone involved in the killing and ensure they receive capital punishment.

Rath's mother, however, demanded life imprisonment instead of a death sentence, as she understood a mother's pain. She is also a BJP activist in Purba Medinipur.

Adhikari said BJP leaders in Purba Medinipur would stand beside Rath's wife and daughter.