NEW DELHI: A fake number plate, Glock 47X pistols, multiple bike-borne professional shooters, and a point-blank ambush near Kolkata airport — chilling new details have emerged in the killing of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari’s close aide Chandranath Rath, as investigators probe what police and BJP leaders are calling a meticulously planned attack.Rath, 42, who served as Adhikari’s personal assistant and executive aide for nearly five years, was shot dead late Wednesday night in North 24 Parganas when assailants intercepted his SUV near Doharia between Doltala and Madhyamgram Chowmatha, barely a few kilometres from Kolkata airport.According to cops, Rath was returning home to Madhyamgram from Kolkata around 10.30 pm when at least four motorcycle-borne attackers, allegedly backed by another four-wheeler, surrounded and blocked his vehicle before opening fire from close range.Read more: 4 bikes, 8 gunmen and a blocked Scorpio: How Suvendu Adhikari’s aide was chased down and ambushed near Kolkata airportPolice suspect six to ten rounds were fired during the attack.Police believe the assailants used sophisticated firearms, possibly Glock 47X pistols, based on preliminary forensic inputs. “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 said to news agency PTI.West Bengal DGP Siddhinath Gupta said police recovered live rounds, fired cartridges and seized a suspicious four-wheeler allegedly used during the operation. However, the number plate attached to the vehicle was found to be fake and tampered with.“The four-wheeler used in the crime has been seized, but it appears the number plate is fake. We have recovered live rounds and fired cartridges from the spot. CCTV footage and eyewitness accounts are being examined,” Gupta said after visiting the scene along with CRPF DG Gyanendra Pratap Singh.Preliminary findings suggest the attackers, allegedly riding four motorcycles, executed the assault in a coordinated fashion after trailing Rath’s SUV from near the airport area. Eyewitnesses claimed another vehicle suddenly blocked Rath’s car at Doharia before shooters moved in and fired repeatedly at point-blank range.As Rath’s SUV came to a halt, assailants pulled up beside the vehicle and fired indiscriminately into the front seats. Rath was hit in the chest and stomach, with doctors later saying bullets pierced his heart and abdomen. His driver, Buddhadeb Bera, sustained bullet injuries to the chest, abdomen and leg and remains under treatment in critical condition.One eyewitness described the killing as “pre-planned” and carried out with precision.“Just as Chandra’s car crossed mine, it suddenly stopped midway, and a bike-borne person came and started shooting from the left side of the car. The shooter seemed to be an expert and fled immediately. The shots were fired at point-blank range,” the witness told news agency ANI.Locals rushed Rath and Bera to a nearby private hospital, where doctors declared Rath brought dead.Hospital owner Pratim Sengupta said, “Rath had died by the time he was brought in. Bera was later shifted to another hospital.”The killing, which came less than 48 hours after the declaration of the West Bengal assembly poll results, triggered a massive political storm.Adhikari described the attack as a “cold-blooded and pre-planned murder” and alleged that the attackers had conducted reconnaissance before carrying out the ambush.“A recce was done for two to three days, and the murder was fully planned. This is the result of 15 years of Mahajungle Raj in Bengal,” he alleged, while urging BJP workers not to retaliate.West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya called the murder a “planned and targeted attack” meant to send a political message, while BJP leaders including Agnimitra Paul, Swapan Dasgupta and Kaustav Bagchi alleged political motives behind the killing.The All India Trinamool Congress condemned the incident and demanded a court-monitored CBI probe, while also accusing “BJP-backed miscreants” of post-poll violence elsewhere in the state.Meanwhile, police teams are scanning CCTV footage from the crime scene and surrounding roads to trace the shooters, who reportedly fled without helmets and on motorcycles without number plates to avoid identification.(With agency inputs)
