West Bengal: Suvendu Adhikari's aide shot dead; BJP accuses TMC of 'targeted assassination'

West Bengals postpoll tension took a bloody turn on Wednesday night after Chandranath Rath a close aide of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari was shot dead in North 24 Parganas in what the saffron camp described as a targeted assassination triggering outrage protests and fresh allegations of political violence reported PTILess than 48 hours after the declaration of the fiercely fought assembly poll results the killing sent shockwaves through Bengals political circles with the BJP accusing the TMC of unleashing retaliatory violence and the latter countering with allegations of attacks on its own workers across several districtsAttack Near MadhyamgramAccording to preliminary information Rath was intercepted near Doltala in Madhyamgram around 1030 pm by motorcycleborne assailants who tailed his vehicle forced it to stop and opened fire before fleeing reported PTIEyewitnesses claimed the vehicle carrying Rath was first blocked near Doharia junction by a small fourwheeler after which a motorcycle rider approached the SUV and started firing from close range reported PTIThe occupants of the fourwheeler later abandoned the vehicle and escaped on the motorcycleRath Declared Brought DeadRath who served as the executive assistant to the leader of opposition in the state assembly was returning to his residence in Madhyamgram when the attack took place reported PTIDoctors at the hospital where he was taken said he was brought deadThe victim was brought dead with two bullet injuries on his chest which pierced his heart while another bullet struck his abdominal area There was no opportunity to resuscitate him a doctor at the hospital said reported PTIDriver Critical Tension MountsRaths driver who suffered bullet injuries during the attack was shifted to a Kolkata hospital in critical conditionTelevision visuals showed the front windshield of the SUV shattered by bullets blood stains on the seats and police personnel cordoning off the area amid mounting tensionBJP Calls It ColdBlooded MurderThe killing immediately snowballed into a political flashpoint with BJP leaders terming it a targeted assassination and accusing the TMC leadership of encouraging violence after the assembly election verdict reported PTIAdhikari who reached the hospital around midnight described the killing as heartwrenching and alleged that the assailants had conducted a recce before carrying out the attack reported PTIThis is a coldblooded murder The DGP has assured that they will investigate the matter he saidThe way the attack was executed clearly suggests that the assailants had done a recce beforehand the BJP leader allegedAdhikari Avoids Naming Any OrganisationAdhikari however stopped short of directly naming any organisation behind the attack and appealed to party workers not to take the law into their own handsWe dont want to draw any conclusion as of now as the police are investigating the matter he saidBJP Alleges Continued Attacks on WorkersThe leader of opposition also alleged that attacks on BJP workers were continuing in several districts after the poll results reported PTIWhile we were here one of our cadre was shot at in Basirhat and another was stabbed in Baranagar he claimedMahajungle Raj Remark Against TMCAdhikari said he had spoken to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president Nitin Nabin regarding the killing reported PTILaunching a sharp attack on the outgoing TMC government Adhikari termed the prevailing situation in Bengal Mahajungle RajThis is the result of 15 years of Mahajungle Raj in Bengal he allegedAdhikari asserted that strict action would be taken against criminals after the BJP formed the government in the state reported PTIWhen the BJP government takes charge we will start the job of cleaning up these criminals he saidBJP Leaders Demand ActionState BJP president Samik Bhattacharya called the killing evidence of the total criminalisation of politics in the stateThis was a planned and targeted attack By killing the PA of the outgoing leader of opposition the assailants wanted to send a political message Bhattacharya said reported PTIBJP MLAelect Kaustav Bagchi who was present at the hospital also alleged that the attackers had followed Raths vehicle for a long time before opening fireThis is the handiwork of Mamata and Abhishek Banerjee We will not rest until the criminals are identified he alleged reported PTIProtest Outside HospitalAs news of the killing spread hundreds of BJP supporters gathered outside the hospital shouting slogans against the TMC and demanding the arrest of those behind the attackThe atmosphere outside the medical facility turned emotionally charged as senior BJP leaders newly elected MLAs and party workers rushed there through the nightSupporters broke down in tears while party workers accused the ruling dispensation of unleashing terror after the assembly election resultsA heavy police contingent was deployed outside the hospital and along Jessore Road to prevent any untoward incidentTMC Demands CBI ProbeThe TMC condemned the killing and demanded a courtmonitored CBI probeIn a statement the ruling party alleged that three TMC workers had also been killed in separate incidents of postpoll violence allegedly carried out by BJPbacked miscreants over the last three days reported PTIWe strongly condemn the brutal murder of Chandranath Rath in Madhyamgram tonight the statement saidPolice Begin InvestigationThe killing comes at a time when Bengal remains volatile after one of the most bitterly fought assembly elections in recent years with both the BJP and the TMC accusing each other of intimidation attacks and retaliatory violence in several districts reported PTIDGP Siddhnath Gupta said police recovered cartridges from the crime scene and seized the small car allegedly used during the attackThe registration number appears to be from the Siliguri Regional Transport Office but our initial impression is that the number plate may have been tampered with he saidPolice sources said forensic teams collected samples from the vehicle while investigators scanned CCTV footage from nearby areas to reconstruct the sequence of events and identify the assailantsBarasat police district SP Pushpa said efforts were underway to ascertain the motive behind the killing reported PTIWith inputs from PTI