The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) approached a Barasat court on Tuesday seeking the release of an accused in the murder of Chandranath Rath, an aide to West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. The agency submitted that the state police team, which initially probed the crime, had arrested the wrong person. The court accepted the plea and ordered the release of Raj Singh, who was taken into custody by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the West Bengal Police in Uttar Pradesh on May 11, five days after the murder.
Background of the Case
Chandranath Rath was gunned down in Madhyamgram on May 6, two days after the West Bengal assembly poll results were announced and three days before Suvendu Adhikari was sworn in as the chief minister. The investigation was later transferred to the CBI. In court, the central agency argued that Raj Singh, who was arrested along with Mayank Mishra and Vicky Maurya, had a solid alibi for the day of the murder.
Family's Claims
Raj Singh's family maintained that he was in Uttar Pradesh when the murder took place. His mother, Jamvanti Singh, told reporters after the arrest that her son had traveled with her to Lucknow on May 7 to attend the wedding of MLC Pappu Singh's daughter. They stayed in a guesthouse near the wedding venue. "Raj attended the wedding and returned to the guesthouse around midnight. We left for Ambedkar Nagar the next morning," she said. The family then visited the shrine of Makhdoom Ashraf Baba in Ambedkar Nagar, offered a chadar, and left for Ayodhya. "We had a darshan in Ayodhya and later stopped at a place to eat. Police intercepted us when we were leaving, and took away Raj," his mother added.
The family, reportedly well connected in Uttar Pradesh's political circles, moved the highest offices in the state seeking justice. Sources said the UP police's intelligence wing and special task force found the family's claim to be true.
CBI's Investigation
CBI sources indicated that they have tightened their grip on the actual cell behind the murder. The agency recently arrested Rajkumar Singh from Ballia and Vinay Rai, alias Pumpum, from Varanasi. "Multiple individuals are involved in the contract killing. The mastermind is still at large," a senior investigator said. Officers believe that interrogating Rajkumar will help bridge the gap between the killers and the person(s) who ordered Rath's murder.
