Overview
- Rath, a close aide to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, was gunned down Wednesday night near Madhyamgram on Kolkata’s northern fringe, and his driver remains in critical condition.
- Attackers on a motorcycle followed and intercepted his SUV near Doltala, with a small car used to block the road before shots were fired from close range.
- Investigators recovered live rounds and fired cartridges, seized a four-wheeler with a tampered number plate, and are scanning CCTV footage and forensic evidence to identify the shooters.
- BJP leaders called the killing a targeted assassination and blamed Trinamool Congress leaders, while TMC condemned the murder and asked for a court‑monitored CBI investigation.
- Police increased deployment across Kolkata’s suburbs to contain post‑poll unrest, and no arrests had been announced in the Rath case as of early Thursday, even as officers reported arrests in a separate political murder in New Town.