Suvendu aide murder: Ballia arms trail leads to another arrest :CBI secures release of wrongfully arrested man Raj Singh

Accused Raj Kumar SIng (Top), Raj Singh (Bottom), wrobgly arrested by Police and released

PTI, May 21, 2026, Kolkata : Uttar Pradesh police have arrested a key suspect in connection with the murder of a West Bengal politician, uncovering illegal firearms and interstate links in the process.

Key Points

• Naveen Kumar Singh was arrested in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, in connection with the murder of Chandranath Rath.
• The arrest was made based on intelligence provided by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
• Police recovered illegal firearms from Naveen's possession during a search operation.
• Naveen allegedly implicated Gyanendra Pratap Singh and others in connection with the firearms.
• The investigation involves interstate links and digital clues, with suspects being taken to West Bengal.

A 35-year-old alleged criminal was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) in Ballia district in connection with the murder of Chandranath Rath, an associate of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, police said on Thursday.

The accused, identified as Naveen Kumar Singh, a resident of Thamhanpura village under the Phephna Police Station area, was arrested following inputs shared by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing Rath's murder in West Bengal on May 6.

 

Acting on information that Naveen was allegedly stockpiling illegal firearms, an STF team from the Varanasi unit reached Ballia on May 19 and launched a search operation, police said.

According to police, the STF recovered a cache of arms and ammunition from Naveen's possession.

Based on a complaint lodged by STF inspector Anil Kumar Singh, an FIR was registered against him under relevant provisions of the Arms Act at the Phephna Police Station on Wednesday.

During interrogation, Naveen allegedly told STF officials that Gyanendra Pratap Singh alias Mannu, a known criminal from Ballia and a resident of Sheetal Davni village under Bansdih Road police station limits, met him on May 7 along with two others identified as Raj Kumar Singh and Golu Singh.

Naveen claimed Mannu later handed him a bag containing firearms.

Police said the accused later led the STF team to a car showroom located along the national highway, from where the bag containing the weapons was recovered.

The STF seized three pistols, two revolvers, 45 live cartridges of .32 bore, three empty shells and a mobile phone from the spot.

According to the police, one of the recovered pistols has been manufactured in the United States.

Naveen is also facing two criminal cases related to extortion and assault registered at the Phephna Police Station, police said.

The other accused, Raj Kumar Singh, has already been arrested from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh in connection with the murder, while Gyanendra Pratap Singh alias Mannu and Golu Singh are absconding.

CBI officials had earlier visited Mannu's residence in Ballia on Saturday as part of the investigation.

Superintendent of Police Omveer Singh informed that Naveen was produced before a local court in Ballia after the case was registered. The court remanded him to judicial custody and sent him to Mau jail, he said.

Earlier, another Ballia resident, Raj Singh, was arrested by the West Bengal Police in connection with the murder case. The Kolkata Police had said the arrests were made by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to probe the killing after investigators traced "digital clues and interstate links" linked to the accused persons.

The suspects were detained in Uttar Pradesh and later taken to West Bengal on transit remand, police had said.

Chandranath Rath, an aide of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, was shot dead at point-blank range in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal on May 6, triggering political reactions and tension in the area.

Suvendu Adhikari PA murder case: CBI secures release of wrongfully arrested man

IANS, New Delhi, May 21, 2026 :  The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has secured the release of Raj Singh, who had been wrongfully arrested by local police in the murder case of West Bengal Chief Minister PA, Chandranath Rath.

According to the CBI sources, the agency itself filed an application in court, stating that Raj Singh had no involvement in the case. Upon conducting its own investigation, the CBI discovered that Raj Singh was the wrong person, and the arrest of the incorrect individual was a result of a mix-up in identification.

Furthermore, the CBI and Uttar Pradesh Police have arrested one more accused in the Chandranath Rath murder case following a tip-off shared by the agency. The accused has been booked under the Arms Act, and weapons were also recovered during the operation, according to CBI sources.

 

Earlier on Wednesday, the CBI arrested a fifth accused in the murder case. The accused, Vinay Rai, was arrested in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

Rath, who had worked in the Indian Air Force, was shot dead near Madhyamgram on May 6 late at night. He later succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.

Meanwhile, the CBI, in collaboration with the Muzaffarnagar Police, arrested an accused named  Rajkumar on Monday in connection with the murder case of West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari's PA, Chandranath Rath.

According to the CBI sources, Rajkumar was arrested in Muzaffarnagar and is the main shooter in the case.