‘Sir ki holo, keno guli chalalo?’: 1st witness recounts ambush-style killing of Suvendu Adhikari's aide Chandranath Rath

DOHARIYA (MADHYAMGRAM): Sushanta Sarkar, a trader and a resident of Dehoriya Methopara in Madhyamgram, a few kilometres from the Kolkata airport and located close to the Doltala Police Lines, was the first to reach the SUV where Suvendu Adhikari's personal assistant Chandranath Rath had been shot on Wednesday night.Sarkar, a former BJP Yuva Morcha official and a present BJP worker, said it was around 10.10 pm. "I feed strays each night. I was doing the same when I heard some crackling sound, more like firecrackers going off one after another. I thought someone was celebrating BJP's win or an IPL wicket or milestone. However, moments later, someone came running and shouted that two people had been shot at. Alarmed, I ran towards the Shivoham Gardenia Apartment," recalled Sarkar.The trader said he found a Scorpio car being blocked in the middle of the 20-ft road by a smaller silver-coloured car. The windows of both the cars were rolled up. "As I reached closer, I heard groans and cries from inside the SUV. The driver was not rolling down the windows. I assured him that I was a local and that I was there to help," claimed Sarkar.When the windows were finally rolled down, Sarkar, to his shock, saw there was blood all over. "There were two people in the front seat. One was the driver. The other, I later came to know, was Rath. He was slouching on the seat. He was still breathing but at prolonged gaps. A third person was lying flat on the rear seat making no sound (who was later identified as Buddhadeb Bera, the driver)... The third person (later identified as Mintu) said: "‘Sir ki holo? Keno guli chalalo? (Sir what happened? Why was there firing?)..'Sarkar said that once the SUV left, he called local police, who arrived in less than 10 minutes. The central forces followed. "I helped cops recover some bullet shells. The police said that they were used in automatic weapons. I waited till cops collected CCTV footage from an adjoining apartment and a factory located close by," said Sarkar.Another witness, who was travelling on a bike, told the media: "Just as Rath's car crossed mine, it suddenly stopped mid-way, and a bike-borne person came and started shooting on the left side of the car. The attacker seemed to be a professional. He fled immediately. The shots were fired at point-blank range. I heard the sound of two rounds of gunshots."