I heard groans, then gunshots: BJP MLA recounts final call with Suvendu aide

"I have no words. Chandranath was very close to all our MLAs in the Assembly. He was Suvendu da’s trusted aide. I have nothing more to say," Ghosh told reporters

Kolkata: BJP MLA Shankar Ghosh on Thursday claimed he heard gunshots during a phone conversation with Chandranath Rath, a close aide of Suvendu Adhikari, moments before the latter was shot dead near Madhyamgram in West Bengal’s North 24-Parganas.

“I have no words. Chandranath was very close to all our MLAs in the Assembly. He was Suvendu da’s trusted aide. I have nothing more to say,” Ghosh told reporters at a private hospital in Madhyamgram.

Ghosh claimed that he was speaking to Rath over the phone around 10 pm on Wednesday while returning from Ultadanga.

We were discussing Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposed presence at a swearing-in programme at Brigade Parade Ground on Saturday, he said.

“Suddenly, his voice changed. I heard some groaning sounds and then what seemed like gunshots. After that, there was silence,” the Siliguri MLA said.

Ghosh said he repeatedly called Rath, but there was no response from the other end.

“I sent him a message asking, ‘Are you alright?’ There was no reply. When I called again, an unknown person answered and informed me that Chandranath had been shot,” Ghosh said.

After informing Adhikari about the incident, Ghosh rushed to the private hospital where Rath had been taken.

The BJP alleged that the attack was “pre-planned”.

Rath, who hailed from Chandipur in Purba Medinipur district and was known to be one of Adhikari’s closest associates, was shot dead by unidentified men on Wednesday night.

According to police, Rath was intercepted near Doltala in Madhyamgram around 10.30 pm by motorcycle-borne assailants who tailed his vehicle, forced it to stop and opened fire before fleeing.