West Bengal news highlights: Bengal governor dissolves assembly, Mamata no longer chief minister

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West Bengal news LIVE: West Bengal governor R N Ravi has dissolved the state legislative assembly with effect from May 7, reported news agency PTI. Citing the official notifcation issued in the Kolkata Gazette, the dissolution of the assembly comes after the Bharatiya Janata Party's landslide win in the West Bengal assembly election.

Chandranath Rath murder news LIVE: Prof (Dr) Avijit Saha, medical superintendent cum vice-principle of Barasat Government Medical College & Hospital, said that Chandranath Rath's body was received by the facility at around 2:30-3 am.

"We put the body in the cold chamber as per the protocol since there is no provision for night PM, until there is an order from the Chief Judicial Magistrate or the police authority," Saha told news agency ANI.

He further said, "The PM was conducted by a three-member team, led by our HOD, Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology... Since this is a sensitive issue, the request from the police authority, local administration, and magistrate had come for a video PM... The whole process, starting from the magistrate's inquest to the final handover of the body to the relatives, started around 9.30-9.45 AM and ended around 2.30 PM."

Chandranath Rath murder news LIVE: The West Bengal police on Thursday recovered the bike reportedly used by the assailants during attack on Suvendu Adhikari's aide. The bike has been brought to Madhyamgram police station in North 24 Parganas, ANI reported.

Chandranath Rath murder news LIVE: BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said the killing of his personal assistant, Chandranath Rath, was carried out because of his association with him and the defeat of Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur. “No matter how much we condemn the way this murder was carried out, it is not enough. He was killed because he was my aide, and I defeated Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur. This could be the reason for his murder,” Adhikari said.

Chandranath Rath murder news LIVE: Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has condemned the killing of Chandranath Rath, saying the TMC had become "rattled" after its electoral defeat in Bengal. Speaking to reporters, he said violence has no place in democracy and accused the ruling Trinamool Congress of resorting to violent means. "TMC and Mamata Banerjee have become rattled after their crushing defeat. There is no place for violence in democracy, but the Trinamool Congress has resorted to violence," the minister said.

Chandranath Rath murder news LIVE: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav hit out at the BJP over Bengal election results, saying the voting took place “under pressure” in the state. Akhilesh is on a tour of Kolkata where he will meet TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee.

“What has happened in Bengal. A way has been found to destroy democracy. No one has probably damaged democracy as much as the BJP has. They can never see a woman rising. Voting has indeed taken place here, but people have voted more under pressure than of their own will,” Akhilesh told reporters.

Chandranath Rath murder news LIVE: The mortal remains of Chandranath Rath, personal assistant of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, have been brought to his residence from Barasat Medical College. Suvendu Adhikari is also present on the spot.

Chandranath Rath murder news LIVE: Union Minister Chirag Paswan condemned the killing of Suvendu Adhikari's aide Chandranath Rath, saying people have voiced their opposition to "this very politics of violence" through their ballot. “This is agonising and shameful. This is the very politics of violence that the people of Bengal voted against in the recently concluded assembly polls,” Paswan told reporters.

Chandranath Rath murder news LIVE: The driver of the car, which was targeted by Chandranath Rath's assailants, is in a critical condition at a hospital in Kolkata, police sources told PTI. Buddhadeb Bera, who was driving Rath's car, sustained bullet injuries and has undergone multiple surgeries, a senior official said.

"His condition continues to be very critical. He underwent a couple of surgical procedures and is being closely monitored in the intensive care unit," the official told PTI news agency.

Chandranath Rath murder news LIVE: Reacting to Chandranath Rath's death, TMC leader Gautam Deb said, “Absolutely not a political matter, no basis to allegations against TMC; Let an impartial inquiry take place.”

Chandranath Rath murder news LIVE: The BJP has accused the TMC of fostering a "mafia culture" and "maha jungle raj" in Bengal following the killing of Chandranath Rath, the personal assistant of senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari. BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla alleged that post-poll violence has been "institutionalised" in Bengal over the last 15 years and claimed BJP workers and leaders are targeted whenever the TMC suffers electoral setbacks.

Chandranath Rath murder news LIVE: BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, who PA Chandranath Rath was murdered on Wednesday, appealed BJP workers to not resort to political violence.

“There is no need to resort to political violence. Maintain peace...TMC opened several offices with Govt money and extortion. Those offices were not in the interest of public. 'Syndicate Raj' and extortion were carried out through those offices. Everyone knows this. When Sandeshkhali incident came to light, evreyone said that Shahajahan Sheikh used to call women to these offices and unleashed atrocities on them. These are not my allegations but those of the victims of Sandeshkhali. I appeal to BJP workers that there should not be any incident. Their party office should not be touched either…” he said.

Chandranath Rath murder news LIVE: On the killing of Suvendu Adhikari's aide, AAP MP Sanjay Singh said, "We have seen how violence erupted in Bengal after the election results. Just yesterday, the PA of Suvendu Adhikari was killed. Before that, attacks were carried out on Trinamool workers, their offices were set on fire, and several offices were forcibly occupied. Is this the change being promised in Bengal? Prime Minister Modi gives big speeches about politics of change, not revenge. Is this the kind of change they are bringing? And now, do they want to do the same in Punjab as well? That is why people across the country, especially the people of Punjab, should stay alert against a party that spreads hatred, fuels violence."

Chandranath Rath murder news LIVE: The Election Commission of India announced on Thursday that the Model Code of Conduct, which came into force on March 15 ahead of the assembly elections, has ceased to operate in four states including West Bengal following the declaration of results.

Chandranath Rath murder news LIVE: A car was seized by police linked to the murder of Chandranath Rath after which, the North 24 Parganas police contacted the Siliguri police to find the history of the car. It was found that number in the licence plate belongs to another car owned by a Siliguri resident, William Joseph. He told the Siliguri police that his car, of a different make but bearing the same licence plate, was parked in his garage. Siliguri is 557 km away from Madhyamgram.

Joseph told the police that he wanted to sell his car and had put up an advertisement on OLX.

Chandranath Rath murder news LIVE: An eyewitness said the attack looked "pre-planned" and was executed at “point-blank range.” According to the witness, Rath's SUV had just crossed his vehicle when it suddenly stopped and a bike-borne attacker opened fire from the left side.

"The person seemed to be an expert and fled immediately," ANI news agency quoted the eyewitness as saying.

The witness also revealed hearing "the sound of two rounds" during the shooting.

The attack reportedly happened between 10:30 pm and 11 pm, just 200-300 metres away from a hospital, where locals rushed the victims moments later.

Chandranath Rath murder news LIVE: According to details that have emerged so far, Chandranath Rath — a former Indian Air Force employee (IAF) — lost life in an execution-style killing, with HT learning that he was shot dead by motorcycle-borne assailants who tailed his white Scorpio SUV before intercepting it near Doharia in Madhyamgram of North 24 Parganas, opening fire while he was still inside the vehicle.

Chandranath Rath murder news LIVE: Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that Chandranath Rath's murder was “grim reminder of the blood-soaked political culture unleashed” by Mamata Banerjee and her party Trinamool Congress in West Bengal.

“BJP karyakartas and supporters have repeatedly been targeted, attacked, and murdered simply for refusing to surrender to TMC’s politics of fear and intimidation. This is not isolated violence, but a deliberate ecosystem of terror designed to crush democratic opposition,” he said in a post on X.

Chandranath Rath murder news LIVE: Chandranath's murder is not the first time a close aide of Suvendu Adhikari has died of unnatural cause.

Back in 2013, when Adhikari was a member of Trinamool Congress and was serving as a Member of Parliament from Tamluk, his former personal assistant Pradip Jha was found dead on a pavement on Kolkata's Strang Road on August 3, 2013.

Jha worked as personal assistant for not just Adhikari but another TMC MLA as well, Haji Nurul Islam, who died in 2024. Click here to read more.

Chandranath Rath murder news LIVE: BJP leader Keya Ghosh, while remembering Chandranath Rath after his murder, said that she and other party members used to call him ‘Chandru’ with love and he used to call her ‘didi’.

“This is a very shameful and painful incident. Chandranath Rath was a calm-minded and young man who had also served in the Indian Air Force. He was killed in West Bengal. This is Mamata Banerjee's vendetta before leaving. We saw that all of our BJP leaders, Suvendu Adhikari, Sukanta Majumdar, and others, reached the spot. However, I couldn't gather the courage to see his dead body... As Suvendu Adhikari has said, this is a pre-planned and cold-blooded murder,” she told PTI.

Chandranath Rath murder news LIVE: Chandranath Rath's mother said that he had come home on Wednesday and she had cooked food for him and asked him to come back soon, but he told her that was busy with oath-taking ceremony work.

“He came here yesterday, and I cooked food for him. I asked him to come home. He said he was busy because of the oath-taking ceremony... There is definitely a political motive behind this. Suvendu Adhikari loved him like his younger brother, and he loved Suvendu Adhikari like an elder brother. I think TMC targeted him for his involvement in trying to make Suvendu Adhikari win in Bhabanipur,” she said.

Chandranath Rath murder news LIVE: West Bengal CID begins probe of Chandranath Rath's murder.

Chandranath Rath murder news LIVE: At least three persons were detained for questioning in connection with the murder of Chandranath Rath, personal assistant of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari, a senior official said.

“Investigation is going on. Some persons were being questioned,” said a senior police official.

Chandranath Rath murder news LIVE: While speaking about BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari's PA Chandranath Rath's murder, Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha told news agency PTI that was “extremely unfortunate”.

“I do not recall seeing such visuals in recent days. During the Bengal elections, I have been repeatedly saying through you all that when linguistic violence, that is violence in language, crosses all limits, then the physical violence we are now witnessing inevitably follows. One life has been lost and several others in different areas. If this is what elections lead to, we must rethink our democratic system and everyone must take responsibility, from top to bottom, ruling side to opposition. No human being should face this. Chandranath Rath had been working for many years. Is this the price of democracy? This must stop,” he said.