Kolkata, May 7 (IANS) A fake number plate was used in the motorcycle used in the assassination of Chandranath Rath, the personal assistant of the outgoing Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, confirmed Director General of Police (DGP) Siddh Nath Gupta.

At around 1.30 a.m. on Thursday, Gupta arrived at the Viva City Hospital at Madhyamgram in the North 24 Parganas district, where Rath was declared dead after being brought there in bullet-hit condition on Wednesday night.

“The motorcycle used in the assassination was bearing a fake number plate. We have recovered shells of used cartridges as well as some live cartridges from the spot of the assassination. A detailed investigation into the matter is on. Right now, I am unable to disclose further details,” said Gupta.

Meanwhile, insiders from the state police, citing eyewitness accounts, said that initially it was perceived that Rath’s car was being followed by another four-wheeler for quite some time. After his vehicle reached Doharia crossing in Madhyamgram, the one following him overtook his car, blocked it, and the assassins chasing Rath fired at him.

However, state police sources added, further investigation revealed that Rath’s vehicle was actually and silently shadowed by a motorcycle.

When Rath’s vehicle arrived at Doharia crossing in Madhyamgram, a four-wheeler blocked the way, and the motorcycle rider began firing. According to the state police insiders, the precision with which the crime was conducted makes it clear that the killing was well-planned and pre-planned, involving professional killers.

Meanwhile, state BJP president and party’s Rajya Sabha member Samik Bhattacharya had officially claimed that the assassination of Rath was a result of a conspiracy hatched by the Trinamool Congress leadership, frustrated by the crushing defeat in the recently concluded West Bengal elections.

“Since the beginning I had been saying that during the interim period between the declaration of results and the formation of the new cabinet, it is the responsibility of the ECI to ensure a peaceful law & order situation in the state. Already, Trinamool Congress-backed goons have started creating disturbances in different pockets of the state masquerading as BJP workers. And now they have murdered the personal assistant of the outgoing leader of the opposition to send a message. I am not surprised, since this is the culture of Trinamool Congress,” Bhattacharya said.

–IANS

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