Suvendu aide murder probe leads SIT to UP

Kolkata: The investigation into the murder of Chandranath Rath, personal assistant to Suvendu Adhikari, has expanded into Uttar Pradesh, with a Bengal SIT-CID team pursuing technical leads in Badaun and Sambhal.The team reached Badaun late Friday night after mobile call detail records and location data pointed to suspects in the Gunnaur area, now part of Sambhal district.Officers met Badaun SSP Ankita Sharma, shared technical inputs and suspected mobile numbers, then moved on to Sambhal to continue raids and verification.UP Police is assisting with route coordination, local intelligence and identity verification. Two youths were questioned on the basis of suspicious numbers, though their identities have not been disclosed. A separate SIT team is coordinating with Odisha Police.Investigators believe professional shooters were involved in the killing, with the conspiracy likely directed from outside — an assessment that has sharpened focus on UP-linked contacts.Police now believe seven to eight people participated in the murder, including two sharpshooters and a "tipper" who allegedly tracked Rath's real-time location from a separate vehicle, enabling the attackers to execute the killing in under a minute.Rath was shot dead near his residence in the Dohariya area of Madhyamgram on Wednesday night. Buddhadeb Bera, who was driving the car Rath was travelling in, remains in the ICU. The SIT comprises senior officers from the CID, Intelligence Bureau, Bengal STF and Barasat district police.Kaushik Das, a close relative of Rath, alleged that the victim had received death threats on WhatsApp and Facebook four to five days after the elections and had informed the IB, DIB and district police superintendent."He could not trace the numbers. This angle should also be investigated," Das said. He added that he had met Rath at a BJP meeting in Chandipur, East Midnapore, on the afternoon of the murder.