New Delhi, 12 May (H.S.): In a decisive escalation against post-election vendettas, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has formally assumed charge of the chilling assassination of Chandranath Rath, steadfast personal aide to West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, thrusting the probe into federal oversight just a day after nabbing three interstate sharpshooters.

The meticulously orchestrated hit unfolded on May 6 night in Madhyamgram, North 24 Parganas, scarcely 48 hours post-assembly polls that propelled the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a commanding 207 seats, decimating Trinamool Congress (TMC) to 80. En route home from a political gathering in his white Scorpio SUV, Rath's convoy was ambushed: a decoy four-wheeler (bearing fake plate WB74AK2270) sealed the crossroads 200 meters from his Doharia home, as two tailing motorcycles disgorged assailants firing 10-16 rounds at intimate proximity—three fatal slugs ravaging his right abdomen and left chest.

Driver Buddhadeb Bera, gravely wounded, clings to recovery, while autopsy confirms instantaneous demise amid surgical marksmanship that evaded vehicular armor.

Forensic trails unveiled professional hallmarks—preliminary site reconnaissance, out-of-state perpetrators, and digital chaff like UPI toll pings—prompting West Bengal Police's SIT to surrender the dossier to CBI today.

A specialized CBI unit, supervised by Kolkata Zone's Joint Director, pledges rigorous dissection of leads spanning political reprisals and private grudges in this tableau of electoral fallout.

This brazen slaying amplifies a spasm of post-poll carnage claiming four lives in BJP-TMC frays, galvanizing Election Commission edicts for unyielding security.

As Chief Minister Adhikari's nascent dispensation confronts this specter, CBI's incisive mandate portends revelation of whether Rath's end betokens lone retribution or insidious blueprint endangering Bengal's fragile truce.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar