Kolkata, May 12 (IANS) Immediately after receiving charge of investigating the murder of Chandranath Rath, the deceased personal assistant of current West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, investigating officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday arrived at the spot of the assassination at Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas district.​

Previously, the Special Investigation Team of the West Bengal Police was handling the investigation into the matter.​

However, after being handed over the investigation in the matter this morning, the Central Bureau of Investigation officials first officially took over the investigation from the state police and thereafter reached the spot of the assassination.​

Already, three persons, all sharpshooters, namely Mayank Raj Mishra, Vicky Mourya, and Raj Singh, have been arrested by sleuths of the Special Investigation Team of the state police.​

All three are currently under the custody of the West Bengal Police.​

Sources aware of the development said that investigating officials of the central agency are planning to seek custody of the three arrested persons from the state police for further interrogation in the matter.​

Rath was shot dead on May 6 by bike-borne assailants.​

Rath was murdered on the night of May 6, just two days after the results of the West Bengal Assembly elections were declared on May 4.​

The Bharatiya Janata Party candidates were declared victorious in 207 Assembly constituencies, reducing the erstwhile ruling Trinamool Congress to just 80.​

As Rath was on his way back home at Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas district from a party programme on the night of May 6, his vehicle was stopped at a crossing by a four-wheeler.​

As per the initial investigation, while Rath’s vehicle stopped after being blocked by the other four-wheeler, one of the two motorcycles that had been shadowing Rath’s vehicle for a long time stopped beside Rath’s vehicle.​

An assailant driving that motorcycle fired 10 rounds from close range.​

While Rath died on the spot, his driver, Buddhadeb Bera, was critically injured.​

Bera, however, is recovering fast.​

Later investigation revealed that the number plates of the four-wheeler, which blocked Rath’s vehicle, as well as the two motorcycles used in the assassination, were fake.​

Adhikari had claimed that Rath would not have been killed had he not been the personal assistant of the person who defeated former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur, South Kolkata, by a margin of over 15,000 votes.​

–IANS

src/dan

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