Suvendu's aide shot dead; BJP accuses TMC of 'targeted assassination', Bengal on boil

KOLKATA: (May 7) West Bengal's post-poll tension took a bloody turn on Wednesday night after Chandranath Rath, a close aide of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, was shot dead in North 24 Parganas in what the saffron camp described as a "targeted assassination", triggering outrage, protests and fresh allegations of political violence.

Less than 48 hours after the declaration of the fiercely fought assembly poll results, the killing sent shockwaves through Bengal's political circles, with the BJP accusing the TMC of unleashing retaliatory violence and the latter countering with allegations of attacks on its own workers across several districts.

According to preliminary information, Rath was intercepted near Doltala in Madhyamgram around 10.30 pm by motorcycle-borne assailants who tailed his vehicle, forced it to stop and opened fire before fleeing.

Eyewitnesses claimed the vehicle carrying Rath was first blocked near Doharia junction by a small four-wheeler, after which a motorcycle rider approached the SUV and started firing from close range.

The occupants of the four-wheeler later abandoned the vehicle and escaped on the motorcycle.

Rath, who served as the executive assistant to the leader of opposition in the state assembly, was returning to his residence in Madhyamgram when the attack took place.

Doctors at the hospital where he was taken said he was brought dead.

"The victim was brought dead with two bullet injuries on his chest, which pierced his heart, while another bullet struck his abdominal area. There was no opportunity to resuscitate him," a doctor at the hospital said.

Rath's driver, who suffered bullet injuries during the attack, was shifted to a Kolkata hospital in critical condition.

Television visuals showed the front windshield of the SUV shattered by bullets, blood stains on the seats and police personnel cordoning off the area amid mounting tension.

The killing immediately snowballed into a political flashpoint, with BJP leaders terming it a "targeted assassination" and accusing the TMC leadership of encouraging violence after the assembly election verdict.

Adhikari, who reached the hospital around midnight, described the killing as "heart-wrenching" and alleged that the assailants had conducted a recce before carrying out the attack.

"This is a cold-blooded murder. The DGP has assured that they will investigate the matter," he said.

"The way the attack was executed clearly suggests that the assailants had done a recce beforehand," the BJP leader alleged.

Adhikari, however, stopped short of directly naming any organisation behind the attack and appealed to party workers not to take the law into their own hands.

"We don't want to draw any conclusion as of now, as the police are investigating the matter," he said.

The leader of opposition also alleged that attacks on BJP workers were continuing in several districts after the poll results.

"While we were here, one of our cadre was shot at in Basirhat, and another was stabbed in Baranagar," he claimed.

Adhikari said he had spoken to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president Nitin Nabin regarding the killing.

Launching a sharp attack on the outgoing TMC government, Adhikari termed the prevailing situation in Bengal "Mahajungle Raj".

"This is the result of 15 years of Mahajungle Raj in Bengal," he alleged.

Adhikari asserted that strict action would be taken against criminals after the BJP formed the government in the state.

"When the BJP government takes charge, we will start the job of cleaning up these criminals," he said.

State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya called the killing evidence of the "total criminalisation of politics" in the state.

"This was a planned and targeted attack. By killing the PA of the outgoing leader of opposition, the assailants wanted to send a political message," Bhattacharya said.