West Bengal remained on edge on Thursday following the brutal murder of Suvendu Adhikari’s personal assistant Chandranath Rath in North 24 Parganas’ Madhyamgram on Wednesday night.
Rath, a close aide of Adhikari, was gunned down by unidentified assailants, who trailed her Mahindra Scorpio SUV. The assailants came in two vehicles – a car and a motor cycle. While the car blocked Rath’s SUV, the motorcycle borne assailants shot him through the front door window.
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They fired four shots and three of them hit Chandranath Rath – two in the chest and one in the stomach. Another person was also injured in the attack and is undergoing treatment.
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The murder, just two days after the state elected a BJP government, marked a painful chapter in Bengal’s political history marred by post-poll violence. Tensions are reportedly high in the state following the murder.
Below are the images that capture the tense atmosphere in the state:
Central Army soldiers stand guard outside the residence of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari’s close aide Chandranath Rath, who was shot at from close range by unidentified assailants in Kulup village of Chandipur, Purba Medinipur, on Thursday, May 7, 2026.
Family members mourn after the killing of Chandranath Rath, personal assistant to Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, at Kulup village in Purba Medinipur district on Thursday, May 7, 2026.
A visual of the spot where Chandranath Rath, personal assistant to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, was shot dead on Wednesday night near Madhyamgram, in the North 24 Parganas on Thursday.
As investigation is underway, forensic experts collected evidence from Rath’s car.
Damaged SUV car in which Chandranath Rath was travelling when the attackers killed him.
Investigators said Mishra allegedly drove the vehicle across state borders before taking it to an abandoned location near the Barasat rail gate, where the original number plate was replaced with a fake registration plate.
The development comes a day after the West Bengal Police SIT arrested three alleged sharpshooters in connection with the murder and produced them before a district court in Barasat, North 24 Parganas. The court remanded the accused to police custody till May 24.
The accused were brought to Kolkata on Sunday night and are scheduled to be produced before a district court in Barasat, North 24 Parganas, on Monday, where investigators are expected to seek police custody for further interrogation.