The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of officer rank to probe a larger conspiracy and inter-state fallout in the murder of Chandranath Rath, an aide to West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, people aware of the developments said on Tuesday.
The federal agency has already registered a case after receiving the First Information Report (FIR) from the West Bengal Police.
The Special Investigation Team, led by DIG Pankaj Kumar Singh, is currently taking over from the local police and examining all the case documents so far, besides taking custody of three men – Mayank Raj Mishra and Vicky Maurya (both from Bihar) and Raj Singh (from Uttar Pradesh), officials said.
An officer said that Singh was involved in at least 15 murder cases in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, and was suspected of being the main killer in the Rath murder case.
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The seven-member special investigation team, formed under the leadership of Pankaj Kumar Singh, an IPS officer, includes some of the best investigators belonging to various units of the agency, CBI officials said. The team members will report to the Joint Director in Kolkata.
The officers added that the special investigation team arrived at the crime scene with forensic experts to re-enact the scene.
Rath, 41, a former Indian Air Force soldier, was shot dead at close range inside his SUV while returning home in Madhyamgram area of North 24 Parganas district on the night of May 6, two days after the BJP came to power in the state, ousting the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government after 15 years. His driver Buddhadeb Bera, who was also shot, was admitted to a private hospital in Kolkata; A third person, Minto, was not injured. An investigating officer, requesting anonymity, said: “An investigation is underway to trace those who hired these killers. The motive will emerge once they are arrested.”
On the night of the murder, the attackers chased Rath’s car for about seven kilometers before forcefully stopping his car. Rath was shot five times and died instantly. Berra was shot three times. Soon after the crime, Adhikari alleged that Rath was killed because of his close connections. BJP leaders across the country blamed the TMC for the murder. The Transitional Military Council, in turn, demanded an investigation from the Central Bank of Iraq.
