BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari suffered a major personal setback on Wednesday night after his close aide and personal assistant Chandranath Rath was shot dead in Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas. The killing has also brought renewed attention to earlier unnatural deaths involving people closely associated with the senior BJP leader.
According to police, Rath was travelling in a car with two others when unidentified assailants attacked him. He was rushed to hospital but was declared dead on arrival. Police have detained three people and are investigating whether the murder had political links.
Describing the incident as a “cold-blooded murder”, Adhikari said investigators informed him that the crime appeared to have been carefully planned over several days. He added that a vehicle was allegedly used during the attack and said the BJP would support Rath’s family.
Rath had reportedly worked closely with Adhikari since 2021 and played a key role in his political and election-related activities. BJP leaders described him as one of Adhikari’s most dependable associates.
The incident has revived memories of the 2013 death of Adhikari’s former aide Pradip Jha, who was found unconscious on a Kolkata pavement during the BJP leader’s stint in the Trinamool Congress. Jha later died in hospital, with reports suggesting alcohol consumption and choking may have contributed to his death.
Another close associate, Adhikari’s bodyguard Subhabrata Chakraborty, died under mysterious circumstances in 2018 after an alleged suicide at a police barrack in East Medinipur.
