The police will bank on the statement of a person, identified as Mintu, as they try to piece together the last moments of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari's aide Chandranath Rath and nab the accused.
According to witnesses, Mintu, an aide of Rath, was inside the SUV that was being driven by driver Buddadeb Bera, with Rath sitting next to him in the front seat. These witnesses claimed that even as Rath was shot and Bera too was injured, it was Mintu who had howled for help, witnessing how a hatchback blocked Rath's car barely 170 metres from his Madhyagram residence and bikers shot him from the left at point-blank range.
They further ascertained that it was Mintu who was asked to drive both Rath and Bera to the nearest hospital. "He looked shaken and frightened. I had to tell him that we are locals before he rolled down the windows," said Sushanta Sarkar, a prime witness. He claimed that upon seeing the shooters, Mintu had hidden in the gap between the front and middle rear seat, an act that might have helped him to escape unhurt.
The SIT that is probing the case, along with Barasat district police, refused to comment on his whereabouts. The state IB, which is part of the SIT, has been primarily tasked to speak to him and note down his statement.
Back at the hospital off EM Bypass, in a surgery that took about six hours, doctors removed three bullets from driver Bera's body. Sources in Apollo Multispecialty Hospital said the bullets were found lodged in the shoulder, chest and abdomen. Doctors from departments including general surgery, CTVS and plastic surgery performed the surgery soon after he was referred from Viva City Hospital Madhyamgram, where he was initially rushed to.
"He is on ventilation support. The next 72 hours are extremely crucial," said a hospital source. Cops said that it may be days before they can even speak to Bera, given his condition. "Hence Mintu will be our main witness," explained a senior CID official.
