The post-election violence in West Bengal 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 near Kolkata. The BJP described the killing as a “targeted assassination” and accused the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) of orchestrating political violence in the aftermath of the Assembly election results.
The incident came less than 48 hours after the fiercely contested election results were declared, intensifying political tensions across the state. While the BJP alleged that TMC workers were carrying out retaliatory attacks following the saffron party’s sweeping victory, the ruling party countered by claiming that its own supporters were facing violence in several districts.
The murder has sent shockwaves through Bengal’s political landscape, particularly as it involved a close associate of Suvendu Adhikari, who recently defeated Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from the high-profile Bhabanipur Assembly constituency by a margin of over 15,000 votes.
According to preliminary reports, 41-year-old Chandranath Rath was attacked near Doltala in Madhyamgram around 10.30 pm on Wednesday. Police said motorcycle-borne assailants allegedly followed the SUV in which Rath was travelling, intercepted the vehicle and opened fire before escaping.
Eyewitnesses claimed the attack appeared to have been meticulously planned. Rath’s SUV was reportedly first blocked near the Doharia junction by a smaller four-wheeler. Moments later, a motorcycle rider approached the vehicle and fired multiple rounds from close range.
Witnesses said at least four rounds were fired at the SUV, with two bullets hitting Rath at point-blank range. The attackers later abandoned the smaller vehicle and fled on the motorcycle.
Police and forensic teams rushed to the spot and collected samples from the crime scene as well as from the white Scorpio vehicle in which Rath was travelling. Investigators also seized the smaller car allegedly used to block Rath’s SUV before the shooting.
Rath, who served as the executive assistant to the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, was returning home to Madhyamgram when the attack took place. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
A doctor who examined Rath said he had sustained two bullet injuries to the chest, which pierced his heart, while another bullet struck his abdomen.
“There was no opportunity to resuscitate him,” the doctor said.
Rath’s driver, who was also injured during the firing, was shifted to a Kolkata hospital and remains in critical condition.
Television visuals from the scene showed the SUV’s front windshield shattered by bullets, blood stains inside the vehicle and heavy police deployment in the area as tensions escalated.
The incident quickly snowballed into a major political controversy, with BJP leaders alleging that the murder was politically motivated.
Suvendu Adhikari reached the hospital around midnight and termed the killing “heart-wrenching”. He alleged that the attackers had conducted prior reconnaissance before executing the assault and called it a “cold-blooded and premeditated murder”.
The BJP accused the TMC leadership of encouraging violence against party workers after the election outcome. Senior saffron party leaders demanded a high-level probe into the killing and alleged a breakdown of law and order in the state.
The TMC, however, rejected the allegations and maintained that violence had affected workers from all political parties in the post-election period.
With tensions already running high after the election results, Rath’s killing is expected to further deepen the political confrontation between the BJP and the ruling TMC in West Bengal.
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