KOLKATA: BJP MLA Shankar Ghosh was speaking to Chandranath Rath about upcoming party programs when the call suddenly went silent on Wednesday night, moments before Rath was gunned down in a meticulously planned attack near his Madhyamgram home.“I was talking to him about the programs on Friday and Saturday. But the call snapped just as I could hear some faint noise. I called back and texted but there was no reply. Someone else answered when I tried again and said Rath had been shot,” the Siliguri BJP MLA said on Thursday, recounting Rath’s chilling final moments.Cops probing the murder of Suvendu Adhikari’s 38-year-old aide now believe professional hitmen had conducted reconnaissance for at least 72 hours before carrying out the attack.Police said at least four assailants using two motorbikes and a silver hatchback intercepted Rath’s SUV barely 170 meters from his residence around 10.08pm on Wednesday. The attackers allegedly fired eight rounds from Glock 47X semi-automatic pistols at point-blank range during the 50-second operation.Rath suffered three bullet injuries, two in the chest and one in the abdomen and died due to excessive blood loss and multiple organ failure, according to the post-mortem report. His driver, Buddhadeb Bera, who was also hit by three bullets, remains critical and is on ventilator support after undergoing a six-hour surgery at a Kolkata hospital.Police recovered empty cartridges and live ammunition from the scene. Investigators said the sophisticated weapons used indicated the involvement of trained shooters.CCTV footage reviewed by investigators showed a silver hatchback entering Sheikh Mujib Road around 10 pm. Rath’s SUV entered the stretch eight minutes later before the hatchback blocked the vehicle. Seconds later, bike-borne assailants opened fire and fled in different directions.“One of the shooters placed his hand on the roof of the SUV, pressed the pistol against the window and fired repeatedly,” an investigator said.The hatchback used in the attack and one motorcycle have since been recovered, but police said both carried fake registration plates and scrubbed chassis numbers, suggesting a well-planned operation aimed at evading detection.The fake registration number on the hatchback was traced to Siliguri, leading police to question tea garden employee William Joseph. Investigators later found his vehicle was still parked at his residence and suspected the registration number had been copied from an online sale advertisement.Police are still searching for another motorcycle believed to have been used in the attack.A Special Investigation Team led by CID inspector-general Anup Jaiswal has been formed to probe the murder. Officers from the CID, Intelligence Branch, Special Task Force and Barasat district police are part of the SIT.The third occupant in Rath’s SUV, identified as Mintu, escaped unhurt after ducking between the seats during the firing and later drove Rath and the injured driver to hospital. Investigators now consider him a prime witness in the case.Witnesses described scenes of panic and bloodshed moments after the attack.Sushanta Sarkar, a local resident who rushed to the spot after hearing sounds resembling firecrackers, said he found Rath slumped in the front seat covered in blood.“He was still breathing but at prolonged gaps. There was blood everywhere inside the SUV,” Sarkar said.Leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari termed the murder “premeditated” and claimed Rath had been targeted for his role in the BJP’s Bhowanipore campaign against chief minister Mamata Banerjee.“This was a planned operation. A recce was conducted for several days and the victim was followed before being shot at close range,” Adhikari said after visiting Rath’s family.
