Motorbike used in Chandranath Rath murder recovered as probe uncovers fake vehicle identities
The Special Investigation Team (SIT), formed to examine the assassination, is piecing together the sequence of events that led to Rath’s death on Wednesday night in Madhyamgram. Preliminary findings suggest Rath was returning home after attending a BJP programme when his vehicle came under surveillance.
by Zee Media Bureau · Zee NewsInvestigators probing the murder of Chandranath Rath, the long-serving aide to Suvendu Adhikari, recovered the motorcycle believed to have been used in the attack on Thursday. Yet, significant uncertainty remains over the true ownership of both the motorcycle and the four-wheeler allegedly involved in the killing.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT), formed to examine the assassination, is piecing together the sequence of events that led to Rath’s death on Wednesday night in Madhyamgram. Preliminary findings suggest Rath was returning home after attending a BJP programme when his vehicle came under surveillance.
According to investigators, a motorcycle carrying the suspected gunman followed Rath’s car for some distance. As the vehicle approached the Doharia crossing in Madhyamgram, another four-wheeler allegedly moved in and blocked its path.
Moments later, the attacker, who was wearing a helmet, pulled up alongside Rath’s vehicle and opened fire from close range. Rath was killed at the scene, while his driver, Buddhadeb Bera, sustained serious injuries and was left bleeding heavily after the assault.
Police traced the four-wheeler within hours of the shooting, which took place around 10.30 p.m. on Wednesday. The motorcycle suspected to have been used by the assailant was later recovered from an abandoned spot roughly four kilometres from the crime scene. Adhikari said he had been informed of the recovery by the police.
The investigation has since uncovered several irregularities linked to the vehicles used in the attack. Sources within the state police said records from the Motor Vehicles Department showed the motorcycle was registered in the name of one Bivas Bhattacharya, with an address listed at a factory quarter in Burnpur, an industrial township in West Burdwan.
However, officers discovered that no individual by that name had ever resided at the address. The current occupant of the premises, Dharamveer Kumar, reportedly told investigators that he neither owned a motorcycle nor knew anyone called Bivas Bhattacharya.
Further complications emerged during checks on the four-wheeler involved in intercepting Rath’s car. Investigators found that the registration number displayed on the vehicle actually belonged to another car of a different make and colour owned by William Joseph, a tea garden manager in the Matigara-Naxalbari area of Darjeeling. Police confirmed that Joseph’s vehicle remains in his possession and had no connection to the crime.
S.N. Gupta had stated on Wednesday night, only hours after the shooting, that the number plates used on both vehicles were fake.
Investigators believe the manner in which the killing was executed points to a carefully planned operation. A senior police source said Rath’s movements appeared to have been monitored for several days before the attack.
The same source noted that the assailant’s actions, pulling up beside the target vehicle, firing at least ten rounds at close range, and escaping swiftly, suggested the involvement of a trained and experienced sharpshooter.
(With ANI inputs)