CCTV captures final moments before Suvendu Adhikari aide Chandranath Rath was gunned down

Fresh CCTV footage has added a dramatic new layer to the investigation into the murder of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari’s close aide Chandranath Rath, who was shot dead near his residence in Madhyamgram late Wednesday night in what the BJP has described as a “political assassination”.

The footage, now being examined by investigators, reportedly shows a white Scorpio SUV believed to be carrying Rath entering a narrow lane at around 9.58 pm, roughly 20 minutes before gunmen opened fire on the vehicle just metres away from his home. Watch it below: 

Officials probing the case believe the visuals could help establish the route followed by the attackers and identify the vehicles involved in the operation.

According to investigators, Rath was returning home when assailants intercepted his SUV near a stretch that police suspect had been carefully chosen in advance because of multiple escape routes.

Eyewitnesses claimed the attackers struck swiftly and fled within seconds after firing several rounds at close range.

Sources in the investigation said Rath sustained multiple bullet injuries to the chest, abdomen, and head.

He was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition, but doctors declared him dead shortly after arrival. His driver, identified as Buddhadeb, also suffered injuries in the firing and is undergoing treatment.

The emergence of CCTV footage has intensified focus on what police believe was a meticulously executed operation.

CID teams, forensic experts, and senior officers have begun analysing visuals from nearby homes, electric poles, and roadside establishments to reconstruct the attackers’ movements before and after the shooting.

Investigators suspect Rath may have been under surveillance for days before the murder.

BJP leaders alleged that the killers had conducted a recce in the area for at least two to three days and tracked Rath’s routine before carrying out the attack.

Police have also seized a vehicle allegedly connected to the crime. Officials said the four-wheeler carried a fake registration number plate and may have been procured using forged details.

Sources claimed the vehicle was purchased through OLX and later modified to avoid detection. Several live cartridges and other forensic evidence have been recovered from the scene.

West Bengal DGP Siddh Nath Gupta confirmed that the investigation was progressing with the help of CCTV evidence and technical surveillance.

He said one suspect had already been detained for questioning while multiple teams were tracking the route taken by the attackers before and after the shooting.

An eyewitness who was near the spot at the time of the incident described the attack as “professional” and “point-blank”.

Speaking about the sequence of events, the witness said Rath’s vehicle suddenly stopped on the road before a bike-borne assailant approached from the side and opened fire through the left window.

The gunman then escaped immediately. The killing has triggered a massive political storm in West Bengal, with the BJP directly alleging a larger conspiracy behind the murder.

A visibly angry Adhikari reached the hospital soon after the incident and described the attack as “cold-blooded” and “fully planned”.

Adhikari alleged that the law-and-order situation in Bengal had collapsed and claimed the murder was the result of “15 years of jungle raj”.

At the same time, he appealed to BJP workers not to resort to violence and said the culprits would soon be identified.

The political row intensified further after old remarks made by Abhishek Banerjee during the election campaign resurfaced online following Rath’s murder.

Portions of his speech, in which he warned political opponents about consequences after May 4, are now being widely circulated by BJP supporters on social media.

Born in Purba Medinipur in 1984, Rath had shared a long political association with Suvendu Adhikari that stretched back decades.

A former Indian Air Force officer, Rath later joined public life and eventually became one of Adhikari’s most trusted aides, handling key organisational and election-related responsibilities within the BJP.