Suvendu Adhikari PA murder case: CBI arrests fifth accused, main shooter, in UP
The arrest follows that of the alleged main shooter, Rajkumar Singh, a resident of Chhapar in Uttar Pradesh, who was apprehended on Monday near a toll plaza on the Haridwar-Delhi Highway, roughly 30 kilometres from Muzaffarnagar, in a joint operation with the Uttar Pradesh Police.
by Zee Media Bureau · Zee NewsThe Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested a fifth person in connection with the murder of Chandranath Rath, personal assistant to West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, with the latest arrest made in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The accused, identified as 40-year-old Vinay Rai alias Pumpum Rai, originally from the Zamani area of Ghazipur district in Uttar Pradesh, was picked up on Tuesday, CBI officials confirmed.
The arrest follows that of the alleged main shooter, Rajkumar Singh, a resident of Chhapar in Uttar Pradesh, who was apprehended on Monday near a toll plaza on the Haridwar-Delhi Highway, roughly 30 kilometres from Muzaffarnagar, in a joint operation with the Uttar Pradesh Police. Investigators believe he was attempting to flee through Delhi and Haridwar. An earlier raid at a house in Delhi's Swaroop Nagar area had come up empty. His name had surfaced during the interrogation of two previously arrested accused, Mayank Raj Mishra and Raj Singh. Rajkumar was granted transit remand and produced before a special CBI court in Kolkata on Tuesday.
A court has separately remanded three accused, Mayank Raj Mishra, Vicky Maurya, and Raj Singh, all arrested from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, to police custody until 24 May. Public Prosecutor Advocate Bivas Chatterjee told reporters, "Three persons have been arrested, and the court has sent them to police custody till May 24, i.e., 13 days of police custody. We also sought for the addition of the section relating to the destruction of evidence, which has been added by the court."
Rath, 41, who had previously served in the Indian Air Force, was shot dead in Madhyamgram in North 24-Parganas late on the night of 6 May, within 48 hours of the announcement of West Bengal's assembly election results. He was seated in the passenger seat of a car when unidentified assailants pulled up on a motorcycle, opened fire and sped away. The driver of the vehicle was also wounded in the attack. Both were rushed to the hospital, where Rath was declared dead.
The state police initially formed an SIT and arrested two accused from Uttar Pradesh and an alleged sharpshooter from Buxar in Bihar before handing the case to the CBI owing to the severity and organised nature of the crime. The CBI re-registered the matter and filed charges under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, including Section 103(1) for murder, Section 61(1) for criminal conspiracy, and Section 111(2)(a) for organised crime, alongside Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act. The case was initiated on the basis of a complaint by Rath's brother, who alleged the killing was the result of a planned conspiracy carried out by multiple individuals.
Chief Minister Adhikari visited Rath's residence on Sunday to attend the funeral and personally assured the victim's mother, Hasirani Rath, that those responsible would face justice. She said she had faith in the Chief Minister.
The investigation remains ongoing, with the CBI expected to make further arrests as the probe deepens.
(With agencies' inputs)