GUWAHATI: The personal assistant (PA) of senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, Chandranath Rath, was shot dead late Wednesday night, May 6, in the Doharia area of Madhyamgram in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, just two days after the BJP’s sweeping victory in the state assembly elections.
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According to reports, Rath was returning to his residence in Barasat when his vehicle was intercepted by motorcycle-borne assailants around 10:20 PM. One of the attackers reportedly approached the car and fired three rounds at point-blank range through the window. Rath, who was seated beside the driver, died on the spot.
The driver sustained serious injuries and was rushed to SSKM Hospital in Kolkata for treatment, as per reports.
Reports said the attackers arrived on one or two motorcycles and fled immediately after the shooting. Police have launched an investigation into the incident.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC), in a statement posted on X, condemned the killing and alleged that three of its workers had also been killed in incidents of post-poll violence over the past three days.
“We strongly condemn the brutal murder of Chandranath Rath in Madhyamgram tonight, along with the killing of three other TMC workers in incidents of post-poll violence allegedly carried out by BJP-backed miscreants over the last three days, despite the Model Code of Conduct being in force,” the party said.
The TMC further demanded “the strongest possible action” in the case, including a court-monitored CBI investigation to identify and punish those responsible. “Violence and political killings have no place in a democracy and the guilty must be held accountable at the earliest,” the statement added.
The incident comes amid heightened political tensions in the state following the BJP’s landslide victory in the West Bengal Assembly elections, where the party secured 207 seats while the TMC was reduced to 80.
Suvendu Adhikari, who is being seen as the frontrunner for the chief minister’s post, also defeated TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee in the Bhabanipur constituency, considered her political stronghold.
Meanwhile, top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, are expected to attend the new government’s oath-taking ceremony in Kolkata on May 9.
