CBI arrests fifth accused in Chandranath Rath murder case from Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi

The Central Bureau of Investigation CBI on Tuesday arrested the fifth accused in connection with the murder case of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikaris personal assistant Chandranath Rath from Uttar Pradeshs Varanasi central agency officials confirmedOfficials said the accused has been identified as 40yearold Vinay Rai alias Pumpum Rai originally hailing from the Zamani area of Uttar Pradeshs GhazipurEarlier on Monday the agency had arrested the main shooter identified as Rajkumar Singh from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh The arrest was made with the help of the Uttar Pradesh PoliceCBI sources identified the accused as Rajkumar Singh a resident of Chhapar in Uttar Pradesh A joint operation involving the CBI and local police was carried out on SundayThe investigating team had earlier raided a house in Delhis Swaroop Nagar area but Rajkumar could not be traced thereHe was eventually apprehended near a toll plaza on the HaridwarDelhi Highway on Monday The location is around 30 km from Muzaffarpur Investigators suspect that he was attempting to flee through Delhi and HaridwarMeanwhile a court has sent three arrested accused mdash Mayank Raj Mishra Vicky Maurya and Raj Singh mdash to police custody until May 24 They were arrested from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in connection with the caseAccording to CBI sources the name of Rajkumar Singh surfaced during the interrogation of accused Mayank and Raj Singh Following his detention Rajkumar was granted transit remand and later produced before a special CBI court in Kolkata on TuesdayThe investigation into the case is still ongoing and further action is expected as the agency continues its probe41yearold Rath who once served in the Indian Air Force was shot dead in Madhyamgram in North 24Parganas late on May 6The incident occurred within 48 hours of the announcement of the highstakes assembly election results in West BengalRath was seated in the passenger seat of a car when unidentified assailants arrived on a motorcycle opened fire and fled the spot The driver of the vehicle was also injured in the attackBoth Rath and the injured driver were rushed to hospital shortly afterwards However doctors declared Rath deadFollowing the incident the state police formed an SIT to probe the murder and subsequently arrested two accused from Uttar Pradesh and an alleged sharpshooter from Buxar in BiharThe case was handed over to the CBI by West Bengal Police owing to the severity of the crimeAfter reregistering the matter as a regular case the CBI filed a case under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita BNS 2023 These include Section 1031 for murder Section 611 for criminal conspiracy and Section 1112a relating to organised crime The agency has also added Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms ActThe investigation was initiated based on a complaint lodged by Raths brother In his statement he alleged that the killing was the result of a planned and wellorganised conspiracy involving several unidentified personsPublic Prosecutor Advocate Bivas Chatterjee informed the court that the prosecution had also requested additional charges for destruction of evidenceThe court accepted the plea and included the added charges in the case proceedingsChief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had visited Raths residence on Sunday to attend the funeral service He assured Rathrsquos mother Hasirani Rath that those responsible for the murder would be brought to justice Hasirani Rath said she had faith in the Chief MinisterThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever