Kolkata, May 7 (IANS) The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the assassination of Chandranath Rath, the long-time personal assistant of outgoing Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, recovered the motorcycle used in the murder, on Thursday.

However, investigators are still facing confusion over the real identities of the owners of both the motorcycle and the four-wheeler allegedly used in the crime.

Preliminary investigation revealed that while Rath was returning home on Wednesday night after attending a BJP programme, his vehicle was being followed by a motorcycle ridden by the assailant.

As Rath’s vehicle reached the Doharia crossing at Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas district, another four-wheeler allegedly blocked its path.

As Rath’s vehicle came to a halt after being intercepted, the motorcycle rider, wearing a helmet, stopped beside the vehicle and opened fire indiscriminately from close range, killing Rath on the spot. The driver of Rath’s vehicle, Buddhadeb Bera, was grievously injured in the attack and was left bleeding profusely.

Although the four-wheeler used to block Rath’s vehicle was traced within hours of the murder, which took place at around 10.30 p.m. on Wednesday, the motorcycle was recovered on Thursday afternoon from an abandoned location nearly four kilometres away from the crime scene, Adhikari said, citing information provided to him by the police.

Meanwhile, a source in the state police said that according to records of the Motor Vehicles Department, the motorcycle was registered in the name of one Bivas Bhattacharya, whose listed address was a factory quarter at Burnpur, an industrial belt in West Burdwan district.

However, during the investigation, police found that no person named Bivas Bhattacharya had ever lived at that address in Burnpur.

The current resident of the address is Dharamveer Kumar. Investigators found that Kumar neither owned any motorcycle nor knew anyone named Bivas Bhattacharya.

Meanwhile, the registration number of the four-wheeler that blocked Rath’s vehicle on Wednesday night was actually allotted to another vehicle of a different make and colour owned by William Joseph, manager of a local tea garden in the Matigara-Naxalbari area of Darjeeling district in North Bengal.

Investigation revealed that the vehicle owned by Joseph, to which the registration number had originally been allotted by the Motor Vehicles Department, remains in his possession.

West Bengal Director General of Police S.N. Gupta had confirmed on Wednesday night, just hours after the assassination, that the number plates used on both the motorcycle and the four-wheeler were fake.

A source in the state police said the manner in which the assassination was carried out indicated that the operation had been planned well in advance and that Rath’s daily movements had been under surveillance for a considerable period.

The source added that the way the assailant stopped beside Rath’s vehicle, fired at least 10 rounds from close range, and escaped immediately afterwards suggested that the killer was an experienced and professional sharpshooter.

–IANS

src/pgh