KOLKATA: The East Burdwan police of West Bengal has arrested a man in connection with the April 1 murder of businessman and alleged coal mafia Rajesh Jha, police officials said on Wednesday. The suspect, identified as Abhijit Mondal, was taken into custody on Tuesday night from the Kanksha police station area in West Burdwan district where he lives.
Mondal was interrogated and formally placed under arrest on Wednesday morning. This is the first arrest in the case.
Police suspect that Abhijit Mondal was tracking Rajesh Jha’s movements on the night of April 1 before his murder and passed on the information to the assailants over phone.
Rajesh Jha, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2020 and was facing police and CID probe in Bengal for his illegal coal mining operations, was shot by suspected contract killers outside an eatery on the national highway-2 in East Burdwan. He lived in Durgapur town in West Burdwan.
Jha was travelling in a white sports utility vehicle owned by Abdul Latif, a prime suspect in the cattle smuggling case being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Latif, who was travelling in the same vehicle in which Jha was killed, remains untraceable, police have said.
{{/usCountry}}Latif, who was travelling in the same vehicle in which Jha was killed, remains untraceable, police have said.
{{/usCountry}}Jha’s associate, Bratin Mukherjee, was injured in the right arm during the attack.
Sheikh Noor Hossain, the SUV’s driver, told investigators that Abdul Latif left the spot in another car after Jha was killed.