Day after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari's personal assistant Chandranath Rath was shot dead in West Bengal's Madhyamgram, her mother has blamed outgoing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) for the killing, demanding strictest punishment for the accused. However, she said she does not want the accused to be hanged but given life imprisonment.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, her mother, Hasirani Rath, said her son was assassinated because Adhikari defeated Banerjee in her bastion, the Bhabanipur assembly constituency, in the 2026 West Bengal elections whose results were declared earlier this week. She, though, said BJP workers have been asked to maintain law and order in the state.
"I want the guilty to be punished. I am a mother, I do not want them to be hanged. I want life imprisonment for them. They did this because the BJP came to power," she said, as quoted by news agency ANI. "But those from the ruling party who were making various provocative comments, who were saying that after the 4th, the fathers of Delhi will not be able to save us, so after the 4th, they showed it."
Nath's neighbour Deb Kumar Jana said Adhikari's trusted troubleshooter had no enmity with anyone. "We were together in Chandipur. We had dinner together, then we left for Kolkata... He didn't have any enmity with anyone. He was a very good person," Jana told reporters.
Tensions remain high in Bengal
Rath's killing has escalated tensions in West Bengal, where the BJP stormed to power ousting the TMC. The incident had happened on Wednesday night when 41-year-old Rath, the trusted troubleshooter of Adhikari, was returning to his residence in Madhyamgram from Kolkata.
The police suspect that sophisticated firearms, including Glock 47X pistols, were used in killing Rath, adding that CCTV footage is being examined now. Police also suspected that four motorcycles were used in what was a coordinated attack against Rath.
"A suspicious vehicle that allegedly blocked the way of the Rath's car has been seized. However, the number plate attached to it was found to be fake," West Bengal Directorate General of Police (DGP) Siddhi Nath Gupta was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. "We have recovered empty cartridges and live ammunition from the crime spot. At this stage, the motive behind the attack is not clear."
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