Chandranath Rath murder: How UPI payment helped police arrest three suspects in Suvendu Adhikari PA killing

A UPI payment helped police track three suspects involved in the killing of Chandranath Rath, an aide of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.

According to news agency PTI, the three accused were detained on Sunday and later apprehended by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

The SIT was constituted to probe the murder of Chandranath Rath that occurred in North 24 Parganas district's Madhyamgram area on the night of 6 May.

Nearly a week later, police held three suspects in the case. Police told PTI that the investigation indicated that the assailants were from outside West Bengal.

The arrested persons were identified as Vishal Srivastava, a resident of Pandiyapatti in Bihar's Buxar district, while the two others were from Uttar Pradesh, the official said.

He told PTI that the investigators suspect that one of them is a sharpshooter.

How UPI payment helped police nab 3 suspects

Investigators traced "digital clues and interstate links" in the case, a police officer told PTI.

Preliminary investigations revealed that Rath's vehicle was allegedly intercepted by a car near the Doharia area, close to Madhyamgram crossing, while a motorcycle stopped alongside.

During the probe, it emerged that the car suspected to have been used by the attackers had crossed the Bali toll plaza before the murder.

One of the occupants allegedly paid the toll via UPI.

"That digital payment helped investigators identify a mobile number and establish the identity of one of the suspects. The trail eventually led our teams to the accused," the officer told PTI.

Sleuths are now matching the identities of the arrested men with CCTV footage and images of the vehicle and its occupants captured at the toll plaza, he said.

"...Based on technical surveillance, digital tracking and other inputs, members of the SIT were sent to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. They arrested the three persons from UP. They will be brought to West Bengal on transit remand," the officer said.

8 persons involved in conspiracy?

At least eight people were involved in the conspiracy and execution of the murder, the official told PTI.

Police reportedly believe that the attackers had carried out detailed reconnaissance before targeting Rath, he said.

"The murder was executed with meticulous planning. The assailants had taken several measures to conceal their identities and movements," the official was quoted as saying.

"Investigators have been relying heavily on digital footprints, CCTV footage and technical evidence to find out the sequence of events," he added.

The interrogation of the arrested persons is underway, he said.

Who was Chandranath Rath?

Chandranath Rath was a close aide of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari. He was shot dead in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district on 6 May -- two days after the BJP emerged victorious in West Bengal Elections.

Rath, 41, hailed from Chandipur in Purba Medinipur district, the political turf that shaped Adhikari's rise in Bengal politics, party sources told news agency PTI.

Before entering active political organisational work, Rath spent nearly two decades in the Indian Air Force (IAF) after completing his studies at the Rahara Ramakrishna Mission, Rahara, West Bengal.

After taking voluntary retirement from the IAF, he briefly worked in the corporate sector before gradually moving into political coordination and administrative responsibilities.

Rath's family, like Adhikari's, had earlier been associated with the Trinamool Congress. Rath's mother, Hasi Rath, held a position in a local panchayat body in Purba Medinipur during the TMC years before shifting allegiance to the BJP along with Adhikari in 2020.