The killing of West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) aide Chandranath Rath and Suvendu Adhikari’s party leader Suvendu Adhikari was likely premeditated, investigators said on Thursday, citing a well-planned operation that lasted less than 60 seconds. Three people have been detained for questioning in the shooting incident, which has shocked the restive state of West Bengal.
An investigator, who requested anonymity, said the killers used several vehicles with forged license plates and body numbers. The West Bengal Police formed a special investigation team to investigate the case, which inflamed the political storm raging in the state.
Adhikari said Rath (41) was killed because of his close connections. BJP leaders across the country have blamed the Trinamool Congress (TMC) for the murder and accused the party, which was defeated in the state elections, of creating tensions and revenge killings.
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The Trinamool Congress has demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) initiate an investigation and urged the Supreme Court to supervise it. The eastern state has been witnessing violence since Monday, when the counting of votes in the elections was completed, with the Bharatiya Janata Party winning 207 seats in the 294-member House of Representatives.
The number of seats in the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC, which has ruled the state since 2011, has been reduced to 80 seats. Five people, including Rath, were killed and more than 1,500 people were arrested over the past four days, as violence swept across a range of areas in the state.
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The carefully planned shooting in Madhyamgram, about 7 kilometers north of Kolkata’s Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, was carried out in about 50 seconds, officers said. Initial investigations indicate that the entire operation took place between 10.08pm and 10.9pm.
The plan included two motorcycles and a hatchback. “Three people wearing helmets were seen waiting on two motorcycles in a dimly lit lane next to the packaging unit at Doharia Lane in Madhyamgram at 9.30 pm,” a local resident told the media.
Rath, his driver Buddhadeb Bera and Minto, a BJP worker identified by only one name, were traveling from Purba Medinipur to Madhyamgram in a white Mahindra Scorpio when a silver Nissan Micra driving towards them stopped and blocked them seconds later. Rath was in the front passenger seat.
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It is not clear how many people were in the car during the shooting incident. The three men on motorcycles then drove toward the SUV and fired 10 shots. A resident told the media that the men then fled on motorcycles in opposite directions.
A senior police officer from Barasat Police District said: “A special investigation team has been formed. The investigation is ongoing. Three people have been detained for questioning.”
Police said they collected footage from surveillance cameras installed in some residential buildings in the area.
Rath was shot five times and died instantly. Berra was shot three times. Party officials said Minto was sitting at the back and escaped unhurt. Onlookers said Minto moved Rath and Berra into the back seat and drove the Scorpio to a nearby hospital. Rath, who had worked with Adhikari for five years, was pronounced dead on arrival.
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“Bera’s condition has stabilized and he has been shifted to a hospital in Kolkata,” said the doctor who treated him at Madhyamgram Hospital. The police said that preliminary investigations indicate that only one person fired all ten shots through the tinted windows of the car. A group of Union ministers and senior BJP leaders condemned the killing.
