As post-poll violence continues in West Bengal, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) CM frontrunner Suvendu Adhikar’s personal assistant was shot dead on Wednesday night in North 24 Parganas’ Madhyamgram. Chandranath Rath was returning to his home in Michaelnagar at around 10.30 pm when his SUV was stopped by a car near a biryani shop in Doharia. Before Rath and others inside the car could understand and react to the situation, attacks on two motorcycles pulled up and fired shots from point-blank range. The attackers managed to escape after the shooting incident.

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Rath Shot In Chest, Abdomen

During multiple rounds of firing, Rath was hit in the chest and abdomen while the SUV’s driver Buddhadev Bera sustained bullet wounds in the chest, abdomen and leg. Both were taken to the hospital by locals in the area. While Bera remains critical, Rath was declared dead by the doctors.

"The victim was brought dead with two bullet injuries on his chest, which pierced his heart, while another bullet struck his abdominal area. There was no opportunity to resuscitate him," a doctor told news agency PTI. The murder site has been sealed by the Bengal Police.

Tempered Number Plate Angle

As per DGP Siddh Nath Gupta, the vehicle that was used to block the SUV has been seized. The DGP added that CCTV footage from the area showed the shooters fleeing the scene and efforts are underway to identify them.

"The vehicle's registration number appears to be from the Regional Transport Office (RTO) of Siliguri, but our initial investigation suggests that the number plate has been tampered with,” the DGP said.

Sophisticated Firearms Likely Used

The attackers used sophisticated firearms, possibly Glock 47X pistols. "A weapon of this nature is generally not used by ordinary criminals. We are examining whether professional shooters or contract killers were involved," a senior police officer told PTI.

Planned, Rehearsed Murder

As per a senior police official, Rath's murder was well planned and the executed. "The conspiracy was hatched over the last three days; it was planned and rehearsed. Chandranath Rath was followed, his schedule was closely monitored, and his movement marked," a senior police official said, as quoted by News18.

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Suvendu Adhikar Blames TMC For Murder

Suvendu Adhikari described the killing of his close aide as 'heart-wrenching'. Speaking to reporters following the incident, Adhikari alleged that the killing was not a random act of violence but a 'pre-planned' murder executed after several days of intensive surveillance. "The killing of my aide Chandranath Rath is heart-wrenching; we condemn this. We appeal to everyone not to take the law into their own hands," Adhikari said

Hitting out at Trinamool Congress (TMC), Adhikari said, "This is the result of 15 years of Maha-Jungle Raj... BJP will start the cleansing work of the goons here..."