UP Man Arrested by CBI in Bengal CM's PA Chandranath Rath Murder Case

PTI, May 21, 2026, Kolkata : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday arrested another accused in the murder case of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s personal assistant Chandranath Rath from Varanasi, taking the total number of arrests in the case to five.

According to sources, the arrested accused, identified as Vinay Rai, is originally from the Zamani area in Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh and had shifted to Varanasi several years ago.

During the course of the investigation, the CBI reportedly came across Rai’s alleged involvement in the murder case. After keeping a close watch on him for several days, officials of the central agency picked him up from near the Reserve Police Lines area in Varanasi on Tuesday.

Sources said Rai had allegedly provided logistical support in connection with the murder conspiracy. However, the CBI did not disclose further details regarding his exact role in the crime.

Chandranath Rath was shot dead on the night of May 6 at Doharia in Madhyamgram while he was returning home.

According to investigators, Rath’s SUV was intercepted by another car, following which two motorcycles stopped on both sides of the vehicle. Three armed miscreants then allegedly opened fire at close range, killing Adhikari’s personal assistant before fleeing from the spot.

Initially, the state police had started the investigation and constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which subsequently arrested three persons from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Later, the CBI took over the probe following a request from the state government. A few days ago, the central agency had arrested another suspect from Uttar Pradesh.

With Rai’s arrest on Tuesday, the total number of arrests in the case has now risen to five.