Suvendu Adhikari's PA murder: CBI arrests main shooter in Muzaffarnagar

CBI arrested the main shooter, Rajkumar, in Muzaffarnagar for the murder of Suvendu Adhikari's PA, Chandranath Rath. He will be produced in a Kolkata court. Three other accused are already in police custody until May 24.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in collaboration with the Muzaffarnagar Police, arrested an accused named Rajkumar on Monday in connection with the murder case of West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari's PA, Chandranath Rath.

According to the CBI sources, Rajkumar was arrested in Muzaffarnagar and is the main shooter in the case. The CBI has obtained a transit remand for the accused and will produce him before the Special CBI Court in Kolkata on Tuesday, the CBI sources said.

Investigation Handed Over to CBI

Rath, who had worked in the Indian Air Force, was shot dead near Madhyamgram on May 6 late at night. He later succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. Earlier, CBI registered an FIR to investigate the murder of Chandranath Rath, the PA of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.

The case was taken over from the West Bengal Police following parallel notifications issued by both the Government of West Bengal and the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Government of India. The CBI, re-registering it as a regular case, has invoked Sections, including Section 103(1) (murder), Section 61(1) (criminal conspiracy), Section 111(2)(a) (organised crime), of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, alongside Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act. The probe agency registered the FIR based on the complaint filed by the victim's brother, who alleged a professional and highly organised conspiracy carried out by multiple unknown individuals.

Other Accused Remanded to Custody

Meanwhile, the court has remanded three accused--Mayank Raj Mishra, Vicky Maurya, and Raj Singh to police custody till May 24, following their arrest from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Public Prosecutor Advocate Bivas Chatterjee said the prosecution also sought additional charges related to the destruction of evidence, which were added by the court.

"Three persons have been arrested, and the court has sent them to police custody till May 24, i.e., 13 days of police custody. We also sought for the addition of the section relating to the destruction of evidence, which has been added by the court," Chatterjee told the reporters. (ANI)

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