Principal Shooter in WB CM Suvendu Adhikari's PA Chandranath Rath's Murder Arrested in UP's Muzaffarnagar

In a major breakthrough in the high-profile contract killing of Chandranath Rath, the personal assistant to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, law enforcement agencies have arrested a key shooter from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh.

The suspect, identified as Rajkumar, was apprehended during a joint operation following targeted tracking by intelligence units. According to investigators, Rajkumar is believed to be one of the trained sharpshooters hired from outside the state to carry out the targeted execution. The operation was cracked after investigators traced suspicious UPI payments made at a toll plaza near Kolkata during the killers' escape route. 

The case, which has triggered massive political waves in West Bengal, was recently handed over to a specialized Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to unmask the larger conspiracy and identify the political handlers behind the Rs 1.5 crore contract hit.

Rath, a former Indian Air Force employee, was shot dead late at night near Madhyamgram in the North 24 Parganas district on May 6, subsequently succumbing to his injuries in the hospital. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) recently took over the case from the West Bengal Police following parallel notifications issued by both the Government of West Bengal and the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Government of India.

Re-registering the matter as a regular case based on a complaint filed by the victim's brother—who alleged a professional and highly organized conspiracy carried out by multiple unknown individuals—the CBI has invoked several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. These include Section 103(1) for murder, Section 61(1) for criminal conspiracy, and Section 111(2)(a) for organized crime, alongside Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act. Subhash Chander Kundu, Superintendent of Police, CBI, SC-I, New Delhi, has been designated as the Investigation Officer.

As part of the accelerating probe, teams from the CBI and the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) arrived at the crime scene in Madhyamgram on Tuesday to conduct field investigations, with a CBI official stating to ANI that they are carrying out their work without divulging specific details. Rajkumar's arrest follows the earlier apprehension of three other accused individuals, Mayank Raj Mishra, Vicky Maurya, and Raj Singh, who were tracked down in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Public Prosecutor Advocate Bivas Chatterjee confirmed that the court has remanded the trio to police custody until May 24 and approved the addition of charges relating to the destruction of evidence as requested by the prosecution.