New Delhi: The CBI has registered an FIR in the alleged killing of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s aide Chandranath Rath and has taken over the investigation from the state police, officials said.
They said that the CBI took over the investigation at the request of the state government.
As per this procedure, the CBI re-registers the state police FIR as its own case, which becomes the starting point of the investigation. The investigation is conducted independently, and the outcome may or may not support the allegations.
The CBI then submits a final report before the relevant court, which could be an indictment or a closure depending on the agency’s findings.
West Bengal Police on Monday arrested three people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in connection with Rath’s murder, tracing leads from a UPI transaction conducted by one of the suspects at the toll plaza.
Rath, Adhikari’s executive assistant, was shot dead in Madhyamgram on May 6, two days after the results of the fiercely fought West Bengal Assembly elections were announced.
The accident occurred on a public road in Doharia in Madhyamgram district.
They added that Rath was seriously injured in the shooting and was taken to a private hospital where doctors declared him dead.
The three accused were arrested on Sunday and were arrested the next morning by the special investigation team formed to investigate the murder.
Based on technical monitoring, digital tracking and other inputs, members of the Special Investigation Team were sent to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
During the investigation, it was found that a car, suspected to have been used by the attackers, had crossed the Pali toll plaza before the killing, an officer said, adding that one of the passengers paid the toll through a UPI transaction.
He added that the three were charged with murder, possession of illegal weapons, criminal conspiracy and concealment of evidence under various sections of the National Security Service.
“The two accused – Mayank Raj Mishra and Vicky Maurya – were arrested from Buxar in Bihar, while the third, Raj Singh, was arrested from Ballia on Sunday. After interrogation, the three were arrested this morning,” the officer said.
Earlier, the police wrongly identified Vicky Maurya as Vishal Srivastava and also claimed that all three were arrested from Uttar Pradesh.
He added that at least eight people were involved in the murder plot and its execution.
He added that police believe that the attackers conducted detailed reconnaissance before targeting the city of Rath.
This article was generated from an automated news feed without any modifications to the text.
