Three arrested in Suvendu Adhikari’s personal assistant murder case

Three people have been arrested in connection with the killing of Chandanath Rath, personal assistant (PS) to West Bengal newly elected Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.

Officials of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), West Bengal confirmed the arrests, disclosing the identities of the accused as Vishal Srivastava, Mayank Raj Mishra and Raj Singh.

According to Indian media reports, Srivastava is a resident of Buxar in Bihar, while the other two are from Uttar Pradesh. The arrests were made following coordinated operations in the two states.

Quoting investigators, NDTV reported that the suspects were traced after digital evidence, including UPI transactions linked to mobile phones used during the attack, was tracked from a toll booth near Bally on the outskirts of Kolkata.

Police suspect at least eight people were involved in the targeted killing, and one of the arrested individuals is believed to be a professional shooter. Authorities said the breakthrough came through technical surveillance and cross-state intelligence inputs.

A CID officer described the arrests as a “major breakthrough,” adding that preliminary findings suggest the attackers were not local residents of West Bengal. A special investigation team was deployed to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar based on digital trail analysis.

Investigators believe the victim was under surveillance before the attack. The assault took place on May 6, when armed attackers intercepted Rath’s vehicle in a swift, coordinated operation lasting around 50 seconds.

Police said a silver-coloured car first blocked the victim’s vehicle before motorcycle-borne assailants opened fire at close range. Rath’s driver, Buddhadev Berah, was seriously injured in the attack and remains under treatment.