The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the assassination of Chandranath Rath, the long-time personal assistant of outgoing Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, in a recent development, has recovered the motorcycle used in the murder on Thursday.
As reported by news agency IANS, the investigators are still facing confusion over the real identities of the owners of both the motorcycle and the four-wheeler allegedly used in the crime.
The preliminary investigation revealed that while Rath was returning home on Wednesday night after attending a BJP programme, his vehicle was being followed by a motorcycle ridden by the assailant, as per IANS.
Suvendu Adhikari`s close aide murdered on Wednesday
As Suvedu Adhikari’s vehicle reached the Doharia crossing at Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas district, another four-wheeler allegedly blocked its path.
As Rath’s vehicle came to a halt after being intercepted, the motorcycle rider, wearing a helmet, stopped beside the vehicle and opened fire indiscriminately from close range, killing Rath on the spot. The driver of Rath’s vehicle, Buddhadeb Bera, was grievously injured in the attack and was left bleeding profusely.
The BJP leader, who also defeated Mamata Banerjee in the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections, while citing police information from the police, said that the cars used to block Rath’s vehicle were traced within hours of the murder on Wednesday. The motorcycle was recovered a day later, on Thursday afternoon, from an abandoned location. Suvendu Adhikari also said that the vehicle used by the shooters was found nearly four kilometres away from the crime scene.
Vehicle allegedly registered at fake address
Meanwhile, a source in the state police said that according to records of the Motor Vehicles Department, the motorcycle was registered in the name of one Bivas Bhattacharya, whose listed address was a factory quarter at Burnpur, an industrial belt in West Burdwan district.
However, during the investigation, police found that no person named Bivas Bhattacharya had ever lived at that address in Burnpur.
The current resident of the address is Dharamveer Kumar. SIT probing the case further found that Kumar neither owned any motorcycle nor knew anyone named Bivas Bhattacharya.
Meanwhile, the registration number of the four-wheeler that blocked Rath’s vehicle on Wednesday night was actually allotted to another vehicle of a different make and colour owned by William Joseph, manager of a local tea garden in the Matigara-Naxalbari area of Darjeeling district in North Bengal.
Fake registration plates used by shooters
Investigation revealed that the vehicle owned by Joseph, to which the registration number had originally been allotted by the Motor Vehicles Department, remains in his possession.
West Bengal Director General of Police S.N. Gupta had confirmed on Wednesday night, just hours after the assassination, that the number plates used on both the motorcycle and the four-wheeler were fake.
A source in the state police said the manner in which the assassination was carried out indicated that the operation had been planned well in advance and that Rath’s daily movements had been under surveillance for a considerable period.
They further added that the way the assailant stopped beside Rath’s vehicle, fired at least 10 rounds from close range, and escaped immediately afterwards suggested that the killer was an experienced and professional sharpshooter.
(With inputs from IANS)