Suvendu Adhikari’s Aide Chandranath Rath Shot Dead in Bengal, SIT Formed as Driver Fights for Life

West Bengal's volatile post-poll atmosphere descended further into crisis on Thursday as the state police constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) , headed by an Inspector General rank officer, to probe the targeted killing of Chandranath Rath , the trusted personal assistant of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari . Police personnel from various districts and specialised units will be part of the SIT.

Rath, often described as Adhikari's " shadow ", had spent Wednesday interacting with local BJP cadres at his native Chandipur village in East Midnapore , conveying Adhikari's message of restraint amid post-poll tensions. He had reportedly told party workers, " Dada has requested you all to stay calm and not indulge in any violence. " Hours later, he was dead.

Rath's Scorpio was barely 200 metres from his Madhyamgram residence when a car intercepted it on the road. Multiple motorcycle-borne assailants then opened fire at close range before fleeing. Police suspect at least eight assailants on four motorcycles , all wearing helmets, were involved. A suspicious car bearing a Siliguri registration number allegedly blocked Rath's vehicle moments before the firing, which investigators believe was operating with a fake number plate .

Rath sustained two bullet injuries on the left side of his chest and was brought dead to hospital, where CPR could not revive him. His driver, Buddhadeb Bera , sustained bullet injuries and has undergone multiple surgeries, with his condition described as very critical and closely monitored in the ICU.

The post mortem was conducted at Barasat Government Medical College and Hospital on Thursday morning under heavy Central Armed Police Forces deployment. Adhikari visited the hospital and expressed confidence that police were " heading in the right direction, " adding that some individuals had been rounded up. He stated that the sole reason behind the killing was that Rath was his aide and that he had defeated Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram .

Investigators are probing the possibility that the motive behind the attack was to destabilise Bengal by creating post poll unrest . Rath's mother alleged he was killed due to dismay within the TMC following Mamata Banerjee's defeat.

The killing intensified an already violent landscape. Hours after Rath's murder, BJP worker Rohit Roy was allegedly shot in Basirhat during a clash over the placement of BJP flags, sustaining bullet injuries to his abdomen. In Howrah's Udaynarayanpur , BJP worker Jadhav Bor had been beaten to death on May 4. BJP supporters in Paschim Medinipur blocked roads with burning tyres, demanding justice and alleging a TMC conspiracy . The TMC has denied any political link and demanded a CBI inquiry , while the BJP termed the state's law and order situation " maha jungle raj ."