The assassination of Chandranath Rath, the personal assistant and political confidant of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, has once again dragged West Bengal’s culture of political violence into the national spotlight. But beyond the sensational details of the killing lies a deeper and more unsettling pattern- this is not the first time a close aide to the senior BJP leader died a tragic death.
Rath, a former Indian Air Force officer who later emerged as one of Adhikari’s most trusted backroom strategists, was shot point blank, on Wednesday, in what investigators believe was a meticulously planned ambush near his residence in Madhyamgram, North 24 Parganas. According to investigators, armed assailants intercepted his SUV barely a few hundred metres from his home before opening fire at point-blank range. Initial findings suggest the attackers used sophisticated weapons and fake number plates, indicating a highly coordinated operation.
EXCLUSIVE CCTV FOOTAGE RECOVERED BY NTT
NTT received exlcusive CCTV footage from the place where Adhikari’s aide Chandranath Rath’s car was followed by miscreants on bike. In the video, a white Scorpio is seen on the frame and it stopped for exactly 7 seconds in the video. In another CCTV a car could be seen trailing the white Scorpio of Chandranath Rath. Time stamp says around 10pm on Wednesday.
The killing has triggered a fierce political storm in Bengal, especially because it comes barely days after the Assembly election results that dramatically altered the state’s political landscape. BJP leaders have termed the murder a “targeted political assassination,” while Suvendu Adhikari himself alleged that the attack was pre-planned and carried out after systematic surveillance of Rath’s movements.
What has intensified the political and public discourse, however, is the eerie resemblance this case bears to previous deaths involving Adhikari’s close associates.
2013, 2018- What happened?
Rath is not the first trusted aide linked to Adhikari to have died under controversial circumstances. In 2013, Pradip Jha — another close associate who reportedly handled key political responsibilities — died in circumstances that continue to invite speculation even today. Jha was found death in Kolkata’s Strand Road, when Adhikari was in the Trinamool Congress.
Years later, Adhikari’s bodyguard Subhabrata Chakraborty was found with a bullet wound near Adhikari’s native home in East Medinipur district of Bengal. Adhikari then was also in the TMC.
TMC condemns death of Chandranath Rath
For the BJP, Rath’s killing is being projected as yet another example of Bengal’s entrenched political brutality. MLA-elect and advocate Koustab Bagchi has openly pointed at involvement of TMC behind the fatal shooting. The TMC has strongly denied the allegations and demanded an impartial probe, even supporting calls for a CBI investigation.
In a statement the exiting state leadership said, “We strongly condemn the brutal murder of Chandranath Rath in Madhyamgram tonight, along with the killing of three other TMC workers in incidents of post-poll violence allegedly carried out by BJP-backed miscreants over the last three days, despite the Model Code of Conduct being in force. We demand the strongest possible action in this matter, including a court-monitored CBI investigation so that those responsible are identified and brought to justice without delay,” further condemning violence and political killings and demanding strictest punishment for perpetrators.
Police officials, meanwhile, have maintained that the investigation remains open-ended. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by the CID has now taken over the probe amid mounting political pressure and national attention.
Who exactly wanted Chandranath Rath dead — and why — remains unanswered.
Rath was not merely a political assistant. Formerly from the Indian Air Force, he had evolved into one of the BJP’s most dependable organisational figures in Bengal, particularly during Adhikari’s rise as the saffron party’s most aggressive face against Mamata Banerjee. Party insiders often described him as the man who quietly handled logistics, strategy, and electoral coordination behind the scenes.
