The vehicle with damaged side window through which Adhikari’s PA Chandranath Rath (inset) was shot in Bengal’s North 24 Parganas
KOLKATA: Motorcycle-borne assailants fatally shot BJP’s Bengal face Suvendu Adhikari’s personal assistant Chandranath Rath at pointblank range and critically injured another aide, Buddhadeb Bera, inside their car in a Madhyamgram lane, close to Kolkata airport, around 10.20pm Wednesday. Rath, part of Adhikari’s close circle for at least five years, was headed home when another vehicle waylaid his Scorpio and a gunman in a motorcycle fired multiple rounds at him and Bera through the front passenger window, police said. The victim, in his early 40s, was declared dead on arrival at a nearby hospital. The killing capped a day of post-poll political violence in parts of the state, prompting the BJP brass to direct its cadres to restore calm on the ground. Investigators said they were unsure of the motive behind the attack on Rath and his colleague, saying they wouldn’t rule out either personal or political enmity. The shocking crime occurred 48 hours after Bengal gave BJP a massive mandate with 207 seats in the 294-member assembly. Adhikari, who retained his Nandigram seat and also defeated outgoing CM Mamata Banerjee in Bhowanipore, reached the site where his aide was shot dead around midnight but is still to issue a statement. Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said, “This was expected only from Trinamool. They are responsible for this death.” Trinamool condemned the incident, calling for “a courtmonitored CBI investigation” to ensure those responsible were “identified and brought to justice without delay”. Rath and Bera were headed to the former’s Michaelnagar home in Madhyamgram from Kolkata when the incident took place. According to police, the incident took place at 10:20 pm on the Jessore Road stretch in Doharia, Madhyamgram. This spot is barely 3km from the NSCBI airport. Eyewitnesses said four bikes carrying eight persons were trailing Rath and Bera’s car after they crossed the airport stretch. They said at Doharia, which is slightly desolate, a car from the other side blocked the one in which Rath and Bera were travelling. Police have seized this car. The two bikes came over near the car and started firing indiscriminately. Around eight-nine rounds were fired by the bikers, with three bullets hitting Rath on his chest, stomach and head. Bera was also hit. The bikers, these eyewitnesses claimed, did not wear helmets and drove away after firing. Locals took both Rath and Bera to a local private hospital. Rath was declared brought dead and Bera is being treated. Police have been unable to speak to Bera as he is being treated. A police officer said, “All we can say at this moment is that we have collected some CCTV footage. The footage show some bike-borne miscreants fleeing. The images are being verified.” The officer said, “It appears the assailants were specifically targeting Rath. We are not clear of the motive.” Senior Bengal police officers are now at the spot. The crime scene has been cordoned off.
