The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday arrested another accused in connection with the murder of Chandranath Rath, the personal assistant to West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari. Rath was killed on May 6 in Ballia. The accused, identified as Golu Singh, was produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court in Ballia, where the CBI sought transit remand to take him to West Bengal. The district government counsel (criminal), Sanjeev Singh, confirmed that after obtaining the remand, the CBI team transported Golu Singh to West Bengal for further investigation.
Prime Accused Gyanendra Surrenders
In a parallel development, the prime accused in the case, Gyanendra, surrendered before a local court on Thursday afternoon. Gyanendra was wanted in connection with an earlier case registered under the Gangsters Act. He appeared before the court of Additional District Judge (Gangsters Act) Harish Kumar, who ordered his 14-day judicial custody. Gyanendra is alleged to have orchestrated the entire murder plot, including purchasing a second-hand Nissan Micra car and arranging the arms and ammunition used in the crime.
Key Arrests and Recoveries
With the arrest of Golu Singh, the total number of arrests made in the Rath murder case from eastern Uttar Pradesh has reached four. Previously, the CBI had arrested Navin Singh on May 20, along with five firearms allegedly used in the killing. The arrest was made with the assistance of the Special Task Force (STF) Varanasi field unit from the Bisunepur area. Following Navin's disclosure, officials recovered a 9 mm pistol, two .32-bore pistols, two revolvers, 45 live cartridges, nine empty shells, and a mobile phone from a warehouse on National Highway 31 on May 20.
During interrogation, Navin allegedly revealed that on May 7, Gyanendra, along with Rajkumar and Golu Singh, arrived at his house in a car and handed him a bag containing the weapons for safekeeping. After learning about Rajkumar's arrest through news reports, Navin panicked and concealed the bag in his warehouse along NH-31. Navin was initially sent to Mau jail on 14-day judicial remand after his bail was rejected by the Ballia CJM court on May 20. However, when Navin did not appear physically or via video conferencing on May 22, his lawyers raised objections. The district government counsel clarified that the Mau jail superintendent's report, dated June 2, confirmed that Navin had been transferred to Dum Dum Central Correctional Home after completing legal formalities to produce him before the court of ACJM North-24 Parganas in Barasat, Kolkata, on May 24.
Previous Arrests
Before Golu and Navin, Rajkumar Singh was arrested from Ballia, and Vinay Rai alias Pumpum was arrested from Ghazipur on May 19. Gyanendra, against whom 12 criminal cases are lodged, is believed to be the mastermind behind the murder. The CBI continues to investigate the case, with further arrests anticipated.
