Bengal bloodshed: Suvendu’s PA killed in car near Kolkata

KOLKATA: Assailants on a motorcycle shot dead Chandranath Rath, the personal assistant of BJP Bengal MP Suvendu Adhikari, at close range on Madhyamgram lane near Kolkata airport around 10.20 pm on Wednesday and seriously injured another aide Buddhadeb Bera who was in the car. Rath, who police said had been a member of Adhikari’s close circle for at least five years, was heading home when another car blocked his Scorpio and a gunman on a motorcycle fired multiple shots at him and Bella through the front passenger window. The victim, who was in his early 40s, was pronounced dead on arrival at a nearby hospital. The killings ended a day of post-poll political violence in parts of the state, prompting top brass in the Bharatiya Janata Party to instruct its cadres to restore calm there. Investigators said they were unsure of the motive behind the attacks on Rath and his colleagues and said they could not rule out personal or political animus. The shocking crime occurred 48 hours after Bengal gave the BJP a huge mandate of 207 seats in the 294-member parliament. Adhikari, who retained the Nandigram seat and defeated outgoing chief minister Mamata Banerjee in Bhovanipur, reached the spot where his aide was shot dead around midnight but still needed to make a statement.Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said: “Only the Trinamool would do this. They are responsible for this death.” The Trinamool condemned the incident and called for a “court-supervised CBI investigation” to ensure that “those responsible are immediately identified and brought to justice”. Rath and Bela were traveling from Kolkata to Rath’s Michael Nagar house in Madhyagram when the incident took place. According to police, the incident took place at 10.20 pm on Jessore road in Doharia in Madhyamgram district. The location is just 3 kilometers away from NSCBI Airport. Witnesses said Lars and Bella were followed by four bicycles carrying eight people after their car crossed the airport runway. They said a car on the other side blocked the car Lars and Bella were traveling in in slightly deserted Dohariya. Police have impounded the vehicle. Two bikes approached the car and started firing indiscriminately. The biker fired about eight or nine rounds, three of which struck Rath in the chest, abdomen and head. Bella was also hit. The witnesses claimed that the cyclist, who was not wearing a helmet, opened fire and drove off. Locals rushed Rath and Bela to a local private hospital. Russ was pronounced dead and Bella was receiving medical treatment. Bella was receiving medical treatment and police were unable to speak to him. A police officer said: “All we can say at the moment is that we have collected some CCTV footage. The footage shows some gangsters on bikes running away. The images are being verified.” The police officer said: “The attackers seem to be targeting Rath specifically. We don’t know the motive.” Senior Bangladeshi police officers have now rushed to the scene. The crime scene has been cordoned off.