Kolkata, May 11:
Investigators probing the murder of West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari’s close aide Chandranath Rath have found a key lead in the form of a UPI transaction made at a toll plaza in Howrah, an officer said on Sunday.
The silver car allegedly used in the killing crossed the Bally toll plaza shortly before the attack, and the occupants paid the toll through UPI, he said.
“The UPI transaction helped the investigators identify a mobile number linked to one of the suspects. CCTV footage from the toll plaza also captured images of the vehicle and its occupants,” he added.
Rath was shot dead in Madhyamgram’s Doharia Lane, around 7 km from Kolkata airport, on the night of May 6, in what BJP leaders described as a “planned assassination”. The murder, which happened two days after the BJP won a landslide mandate in the assembly elections, bringing down the Mamata Banerjee-led government of 15 years, triggered a furore in the state.
Rath’s SUV was intercepted by the silver car near his residence, following which armed men on two-wheelers opened fire at point-blank range, according to police.
After the attack, the assailants abandoned the silver car and fled in a red car and a motorcycle.