The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) formed a special investigation team (SIT) led by a deputy inspector general (DIG) rank officer to investigate a larger conspiracy and inter-state ramifications in the murder of Chandranath Rath, aide to West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, people familiar with the development said on Tuesday.
Three suspects arrested in connection with the murder of Chandranath Rath, personal assistant of CM Suvendu Adhikari. (ANI Video Grab)
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The federal agency already registered a case after taking over the first information report (FIR) from West Bengal police.
Officials said that the SIT, led by DIG Pankaj Kumar Singh is currently in the process of taking over from local police and examining all cases documents so far, besides taking the custody of three men-- Mayank Raj Mishra and Vicky Maurya (both from Bihar) and Raj Singh (from Uttar Pradesh).
Singh is allegedly involved in at least 15 murder cases in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and is suspected to be the main contract killer in the Rath murder case, an officer said.
CBI officials said that the seven-member SIT formed under Pankaj Kumar Singh, an IPS officer, comprises some of the best investigators drawn from various units of the agency. The team members will report to the joint director in Kolkata.
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CBI officials said that the seven-member SIT formed under Pankaj Kumar Singh, an IPS officer, comprises some of the best investigators drawn from various units of the agency. The team members will report to the joint director in Kolkata.
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The SIT, officers added, reached the crime spot along with the forensic experts to re-create the scene.
Rath, 41, a former Indian Air Force serviceman, was shot dead from close range inside his SUV while returning home in the Madhyamgram area of North 24 Parganas district on the night of May 6, two days after BJP swept to power in the state, ousting the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government after 15 years. His driver, Buddhadeb Bera, who was also shot, is admitted to a private hospital in Kolkata; a third person, Mintu, was unhurt. “Probe is on to trace those who hired these killers. The motive will be apparent once we nab them,” an investigating officer said, requesting anonymity.
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On the night of the murder, the assailants chased Rath’s vehicle for around seven kilometres before forcibly stopping his car. Rath was shot five times and died on the spot. Bera was shot thrice. Soon after the crime, Adhikari alleged that Rath was killed because of their close ties. BJP leaders across the country blamed the TMC for the murder. The TMC, in turn, demanded a CBI probe.
Neeraj Chauhan is a senior journalist with Hindustan Times and an investigative reporter specialising in national security, terrorism, organised crime, narcotics, corruption, financial crime and complex investigations. With over 21 years of experience across Hindustan Times, The Times of India, The Indian Express and The Pioneer, he has built deep expertise in India’s internal security and law-enforcement landscape. Neeraj has extensively covered India’s principal investigative, intelligence and security agencies, including the NIA, CBI, ED, IB, R&AW, MHA and other central security forces. His work has included deeply reported investigations into terrorism, terror financing, cross-border crime, narcotics trafficking, cybercrime, financial fraud and political and corporate corruption. He has reported on some of the most significant terror attacks and security developments in India over the past two decades, including the Delhi serial blasts, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the 2019 Pulwama terror attack and the recent Pahalgam attack. His reporting has also chronicled the rise and decline of the Indian Mujahideen, the activities and subsequent crackdown on the Popular Front of India (PFI), Islamist extremist networks, the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgencies in the Northeast and Maoist violence. Some of Neeraj’s major breaking stories are in Aryan Khan drug case, Sushant Singh Rajput suicide, interception of a 3,000-kg Afghan heroin consignment worth about ₹21,000 crore at Mundra port, Sri Lanka easter bombings, Aarushi-Hemraj murders in Noida, 2G scam, coal block allocation scam, AgustWestland VVIP chopper deal and major bank frauds and extradition cases involving Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya. His reporting is marked by an ability to cultivate sources, analyse confidential and complex documents, and follow investigations over several years—from the initial breakthrough to chargesheets, trials and international legal proceedings. He specialises in making complicated security and investigative developments accessible while examining their wider implications for governance and public policy. A Chevening South Asia Journalism Programme Fellow at the University of Westminster, Neeraj also spent time at the Financial Times as part of the fellowship. He was also a Robert Bosch Media Ambassadors India-Germany Fellow, studying at the University of Tübingen and working with Der Tagesspiegel in Berlin. He has previously taught investigative journalism and crime reporting as a guest faculty member at the Times School of Journalism. Over more than two decades, Neeraj has established himself as an authoritative voice on India’s national security and investigative landscape, with his reporting closely followed by officials, investigators, lawyers, policymakers and readers seeking insight into some of the country’s most complex and consequential developments.
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Home/India News/CBI forms 7-member SIT led by a DIG in Suvendu Adhikari’s aide murder case
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