Suvendu terms aide’s killing ‘cold-blooded murder’ says murderers conducted recce before attack

Kolkata, May 7 (PTI) BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday described the gunning down of his close aide Chandranath Rath as a "cold-blooded murder" and alleged that the killers had carried out reconnaissance before executing the attack in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district.
    In a shocking development within 48 hours of the assembly poll verdict, Rath, Adhikari’s executive assistant, was shot dead in a brazen attack at Madhyamgram on Wednesday night, triggering sharp political reactions and escalating tension in the area.
    According to preliminary information, motorcycle-borne assailants intercepted Rath’s vehicle near Doltala in Madhyamgram around 10.30 pm, forced it to stop and opened fire at point-blank range before fleeing.
    Speaking to reporters outside the hospital where Rath was taken after the attack, Adhikari said the incident was "heart-wrenching".
    "The incident is heart-wrenching; we condemn the incident," the BJP leader said.
    Calling it a "cold-blooded murder", Adhikari said DGP Siddhnath Gupta had assured him that the matter would be investigated thoroughly.
    The leader of opposition claimed the attackers appeared to have conducted a recce before carrying out the shooting.
    "The way the attack was executed clearly suggests that the assailants had done a recce beforehand," he alleged.
    Adhikari, however, stopped short of directly naming any organisation behind the attack and appealed to BJP workers to maintain peace.
    "We don't want to draw a conclusion as of now, as police are investigating the matter," he said.
    "We would appeal to everyone not to take the law into their own hands," he added.
    The BJP leader also claimed that incidents of violence against party workers were continuing in different parts of the state after the assembly election results.
    "While we were here, one of our cadre was shot at in Basirhat, and another was stabbed in Baranagar area," he alleged.
    Adhikari said he had already spoken to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president Nitin Nabin regarding the incident.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)