In a major breakthrough, police arrested three men accused of murdering the personal assistant of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari after tracking a UPI payment made at a toll booth near Kolkata. The arrests were carried out during a joint operation involving the police forces of West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.
The victim, Chandranath Rath, who worked closely with the Chief Minister, was shot dead late Wednesday night while returning home in Madhyamgram, located in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. The shocking incident created panic in political and public circles due to the high-profile nature of the victim.
According to investigators, Rath was travelling in a Mahindra Scorpio SUV and was sitting in the front passenger seat when the attack took place. Reports suggest that the vehicle was barely 200 metres away from his residence when a silver Nissan Micra blocked its path. Moments later, armed assailants riding on motorcycles opened fire at close range, killing Rath on the spot before escaping from the scene.
Police immediately launched an intensive investigation and began scanning CCTV footage from nearby roads and toll plazas. During the probe, officials identified the suspects’ vehicle moving through a toll booth in Bally near Kolkata. The major clue came when investigators discovered that the toll payment had been made through a UPI transaction, allowing authorities to trace the movement of the accused.
The three arrested suspects have been identified as Vishal Srivastava, Raj Singh, and Mayank Mishra. Police teams tracked them across Bihar and Uttar Pradesh before taking them into custody. Investigators believe the accused are professional criminals with a history of serious offences.
Officials revealed that Vishal Srivastava, who is reportedly from Buxar district in Bihar, has more than 15 criminal cases registered against him, including murder and robbery charges. The other two accused are said to be residents of Uttar Pradesh. All three suspects are expected to be produced before a court in Barasat, West Bengal.
During the investigation, police also recovered two motorcycles and seized the silver Nissan Micra believed to have been used during the crime. Authorities suspect that both the car and bikes were stolen vehicles. Further examination revealed that the Nissan Micra carried a fake number plate that had been tampered with to avoid identification.
West Bengal Director General of Police Siddh Nath Gupta confirmed that the vehicle used in the crime had fake registration details. The seized Nissan Micra reportedly displayed the number plate WB74AK2270, which investigators believe was manipulated.
The case has once again highlighted how digital payment trails and surveillance technology are becoming powerful tools for modern policing in India. What appeared to be a carefully planned escape eventually failed because of a single UPI transaction that exposed the accused and helped police solve the murder within days.
