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How Bengal police erred, CBI fixed wrong arrest of BJP 'devotee' in CM Suvendu aide murder case
Raj Singh, 28, was arrested on May 10 by the West Bengal Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to probe murder of CM Suvendu's aide.
The investigation into the murder of West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari's close aide Chandranath Rath took a dramatic turn this week after the release of a person Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) “mistakenly” arrested, sparking reaction from political leaders, who called the man wrongly held man “devotee” of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Raj Singh, 28, was arrested on May 10 by the West Bengal Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to probe the case. The CBI took over the case investigation after registering a separate FIR in the matter on May 11.
Singh was released from Kolkata on May 20 after the CBI found he had been mistakenly detained due to confusion over his name with that of the alleged main shooter Rajkumar Singh, as reported by HT earlier.
Simultaneously, the CBI tightened its net around the alleged conspiracy by arresting an arms supplier linked to the accused shooters.
Officials said the mistaken arrest stemmed from the initial investigation after Kolkata Police detained two suspects — Vicky Maurya and Mayank Mishra — from Bihar’s Buxar district. During questioning, the name “Raj Singh” surfaced, prompting UP Police to detain Raj Singh from Ayodhya and hand him over to Bengal Police, the earlier HT report mentioned.
How the wrong arrest happened
Sources cited in an earlier HT report said Raj Singh was returning from Lucknow after attending a wedding function linked to a legislator when police arrested him. His photographs with BJP leaders later circulated widely on social media, fuelling political speculation around the case. He was released from Kolkata jail on Wednesday after receiving a clean chit in the case.
A political controversy intensified on Friday over the mistaken arrest in the murder case of Chandranath Rath, personal assistant to West Bengal chief minister and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, before being released following a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.
Raj Singh claimed he was mistaken for another person with a similar name and was subjected to custodial pressure despite having no connection to the crime.
"I was wrongfully arrested, mistaken with another Raj Kumar Singh. I had gone to Ayodhya with my mother for darshan. While coming back home, a police team arrested me. They did not listen, nor ask for evidence. They threatened me with an encounter and tried to force me to confess," ANI news agency quoted Singh as saying.
He alleged that after being taken to Kolkata, he was pressured to admit to a crime he did not commit.
"Later, I was taken to Kolkata, where the CID tortured me to admit a crime I had not committed. Their intention was to frame me as a criminal," he added.
AAP launches attack
The incident also triggered political reactions, with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia attacking the BJP and investigative agencies over the arrest.
In a post on X, Sisodia alleged misuse of police powers and investigative agencies, claiming that innocent people could be targeted without evidence.
"Raj Singh and his family are devotees of the BJP. They must have clapped even for the police encounters glorified to the extreme, the ED-CBI raids, and the arrests in fake cases. They would have applauded all of this, too. The BJP must have gained even more courage from their applause--that whenever they want, on whatever charge they desire, they can arrest anyone, carry out encounters," Sisodia wrote.
He further stated, "But thank God. They were spared. Otherwise, the blind-devotee media would have been screaming at the top of its lungs to the country about how the BJP's police had gunned down the mastermind. The very applause they gave for the BJP was about to turn into bullets for their own encounter. Thank God."
‘I feared being killed in encounter’: Raj Singh thanks CBI
Singh thanked the CBI for what he described as a fair investigation and appealed to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to take action against the police personnel involved in his arrest.
"I thank CBI for a fair investigation. I appeal to chief minister Yogi Ji to take action against that police team," said Singh, who identified himself as the state general secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha.
Recalling the fear he experienced after the arrest, Singh added, “Every night, I feared being falsely picked up and killed in an encounter, even though I had no case. Who would not be afraid?”
Speaking to PTI news agency at his residence in Ballia's Anand Nagar locality, Singh alleged that Special Operations Group (SOG) personnel mentally harassed him, threatened him with a fake encounter, and pressured him to confess. Relevant authorities have not commented on the allegations yet.
The CBI subsequently identified Rajkumar Singh, also a Ballia resident, as the alleged main shooter and arrested him from Muzaffarnagar on May 18. As the probe progressed, the UP STF, assisting the CBI, arrested Naveen Kumar Singh from Ballia for allegedly supplying weapons used in the murder conspiracy.
The murder of Chandranath Rath took place on May 6, 2026, and is now being investigated by the CBI, which suspects the involvement of at least eight people in the conspiracy. The agency also arrested another accused, Vinay Rai alias Pampam of Ghazipur district, from Varanasi on May 19.
