Kolkata, May 7 (IANS) Senior leaders of the West Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday indirectly targeted the top leadership of the Trinamool Congress over the brutal murder of Chandranath Rath, the long-time personal assistant of outgoing Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, on the night of May 6.

Speaking to mediapersons on Thursday, Adhikari said Rath had paid the price for being the personal assistant of a leader who had defeated outgoing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency in the recently concluded Assembly elections.

“An innocent and educated young man was murdered just because he was my personal assistant and I defeated Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur. At the same time, Rath had no criminal history. He was not directly involved in politics. He was murdered for assisting the Leader of Opposition as a personal assistant,” Adhikari said.

He also claimed that Rath’s murder was cold-blooded and the result of a pre-planned conspiracy executed after meticulous preparation.

“My only request to the investigating officers is to track the killers and the mastermind behind the conspiracy as early as possible and ensure they are punished through due legal process. I once again appeal to my party workers to show restraint and refrain from taking the law into their own hands,” Adhikari added.

BJP’s West Bengal president and Rajya Sabha member Samik Bhattacharya also told mediapersons on Thursday afternoon that Rath’s murder was a pre-planned conspiracy driven by vendetta politics.

“If the lion is silent, it would be wrong to think that it is incapable and hence no one should dare to kick him. We could have replied to Trinamool Congress in the language they understand. But we will never say that since that is not in our culture. We will stick to our culture,” Bhattacharya said.

BJP Rajya Sabha member and former West Bengal BJP president Rahul Sinha said that besides tracing the killers, investigators should also identify those who allegedly masterminded the conspiracy behind the assassination.

“We are certain that instructions have come from the highest level in Trinamool Congress. You go and ask common people. They will also say that the ‘aunt-nephew’ duo is behind this conspiracy. From the manner in which the assassination was carried out, it is evident that the killer was an extremely professional one. Hiring such professional killers involves huge costs. So, it is anyone’s guess who is behind this conspiracy,” Sinha said.

Incidentally, barring a statement posted on the Trinamool Congress social media handle on Wednesday night demanding a court-monitored Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the murder, no senior leader of the party has so far commented on the incident before the media.

–IANS

src/pgh