Police probing the murder of Chandranath Rath have found that the silver Nissan Micra that was used to block Rath’s car to kill him had entered the city through Nivedita Setu and paid the toll tax through an online transaction.
The police said they were investigating this lead and trying to reach the person from whose account the toll tax money was paid.
“The payment was made through UPI (unified payments interface) mode. The account from which the money was deducted has been identified. We are investigating this lead,” said a police officer attached to the probe.
Sources said the cops had spotted the car at Nivedita Setu on Wednesday afternoon in CCTV footage. The car was also spotted near gate No. 2.5, close to the airport, around five hours before the firing took place.
More footage had been found that showed the movement of the Nissan across parts of Barasat and New Barrackpore. The car had placed itself on the route of Rath’s vehicle around 10 minutes before it arrived, making the cops suspect that the assailants were aware of his movement and timings.
Rath, 41, the personal assistant of chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, was gunned down near his home at Madhyamgram on the northern fringes of the city, by bike-borne men who were trailing his car on May 6. The Nissan that was waiting on the route was used to block Rath’s car before the gunmen could kill him.
Rath was hit by two bullets in his heart and collapsed on the spot. The driver also received three bullet injuries and had been undergoing treatment in a private hospital.
Earlier during the investigation, the police had found that the number plates of both the Nissan Micra and a bike, which were left close to the spot, were replicated from genuine vehicle number plates.
A team of officers had gone to Uttar Pradesh pursuing a lead. Several persons were detained for interrogation, but no one was arrested till Sunday evening.
Sources said that although the chassis number of the Nissan Micra had been tampered with, the police have located its origin in Jharkhand.
