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Silver car, toll plaza CCTV: How a UPI payment led cops to 3 suspects in Suvendu Adhikari PA murder
The UPI transaction trail, coupled with CCTV footage at the toll, helped investigators piece together the movement of the suspects before the murder.
A digital payment at a toll plaza near Kolkata has emerged as a key breakthrough in the murder investigation of Chandranath Rath, personal assistant to West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari.
Three people were detained from Bihar’s Buxar district in connection with the case, police said, after investigators traced a UPI transaction allegedly made by the assailants while crossing Bally toll plaza in Howrah, as first reported by HT.
Buxar superintendent of police Subham Arya confirmed that a team from West Bengal had conducted raids in the district.
How a UPI payment led to the suspects
The silver car allegedly used in the attack crossed the toll point shortly before the shooting, with the occupants paying the toll via UPI payment.
“The UPI transaction helped the investigators identify a mobile number linked to one of the suspects. CCTV footage from the toll plaza also captured images of the vehicle and its occupants,” an officer told news agency PTI.
The digital trail, coupled with CCTV footage, helped investigators piece together the movement of the suspects before the murder.
Officials familiar with the probe told HT that the West Bengal Special Task Force (STF) detained three suspects – alleged criminal Vishal Srivastava, Mayank Mishra and Vicky Maurya – in connection with the case. However, there has been no official confirmation of their arrest so far.
Buxar SP Arya, meanwhile, confirmed that a West Bengal Police team carried out raids in Bihar’s Buxar district and detained some suspects. He said the detainees had been taken for interrogation, but did not share further details.
Srivastava is said to have more than 22 criminal cases registered against him in Buxar alone, including murder and robbery charges.
Fake number plates, Austrian-made weapon used
Investigators said the attackers abandoned the silver car after the shooting and escaped using a red car and a motorcycle.
Police later recovered two motorcycles linked to the crime — one near the crime scene and another from Barasat, around 6 km away.
Officials said the registration plates on all the vehicles were allegedly forged, while the engine and chassis numbers had also been tampered with to avoid identification.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the STF have jointly formed an SIT to probe the murder.
A PTI report said that the officials have identified the weapon allegedly used in the attack as an Austrian-made Glock 47X pistol, a sophisticated firearm rarely seen in criminal cases in India.
“A Glock pistol is not easily available in India. Its use prompted investigators to examine whether there could be any international or cross-border link behind the crime,” the news agency quoted an officer as saying.
“We are keeping all possibilities open, including the involvement of external operatives or organised criminal networks,” another officer said.
The killing took place just two days after the BJP secured a sweeping victory in the West Bengal assembly elections, ending the Mamata Banerjee-led government’s 15-year rule.
Rath was returning home on the night of May 6 when he was attacked around 10 pm. According to police officials cited by PTI, Rath’s SUV was intercepted near his residence by a silver car, after which armed assailants on motorcycles opened fire at close range.
His driver, Buddhadeb Bera, suffered critical injuries in the firing and continues to undergo treatment.
(with inputs from Avinash Kumar)
