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West Bengal New CM Oath Ceremony LIVE: Suvendu Adhikari to take oath as Bengal CM today

CBI has taken over the murder investigation of Chandranath Rath, personal assistant to West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari, forming a seven-member SIT led by a DIG-rank officer.West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari(WB BJP)The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has assumed charge of the murder case of Chandranath Rath, personal assistant to West Bengal opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari, constituting a seven-member Special Investigation Team to be led by a DIG-rank officer, as three accused arrested from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh were remanded to police custody till May 24.Who Was Chandranath Rath?Chandranath Rath, a former Indian Air Force personnel who served as a close aide to Suvendu Adhikari, was shot dead near Madhyamgram on the night of 6 May.Rath was subsequently taken to hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. His killing sent shockwaves through West Bengal's political establishment, given his proximity to one of the state's most prominent opposition figures.People also askAI powered insights from this story•5 QUESTIONSChandranath Rath was a former Indian Air Force personnel and a close aide to West Bengal opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari. His killing near Madhyamgram on May 6th sent shockwaves through the state's political establishment due to his proximity to a prominent opposition figure.The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken over the murder case of Chandranath Rath. They have formed a seven-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by a DIG-rank officer, to investigate the killing.Police arrested three suspects in connection with Chandranath Rath's murder by tracing digital clues, including a UPI payment made at a toll plaza. This digital trail helped investigators identify a mobile number and establish the identity of one of the suspects, leading to their apprehension in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.Suvendu Adhikari described the killing of Chandranath Rath as a premeditated political hit. He alleged that Rath was targeted specifically because of his association with him and his political victory over Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur.Investigators believe that at least eight people were involved in the conspiracy and execution of Chandranath Rath's murder. The assailants are suspected to have conducted detailed reconnaissance before carrying out the attack.According to ANI report citing people familiar with the developments, the CBI has formed a seven-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to lead the probe into Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's PA's death, headed by an officer of DIG rank.Three Accused Arrested, Remanded to Police CustodyThree individuals, Mayank Raj Mishra, Vicky Maurya and Raj Singh, have been arrested in connection with the killing and produced before court. Mayank Raj Mishra and Vicky Maurya were detained from Buxar in Bihar, while Raj Singh was apprehended from Ballia in Uttar Pradesh on 10 May based on investigative leads. All three were formally arrested following interrogation on Monday morning.The court has remanded all three to police custody until 24 May, a period of 13 days. Public Prosecutor Advocate Bivas Chatterjee confirmed that the prosecution also sought the addition of charges related to the destruction of evidence, which the court approved."Three persons have been arrested, and the court has sent them to police custody till May 24, i.e., 13 days of police custody. We also sought for the addition of the section relating to the destruction of evidence, which has been added by the court," Chatterjee told reporters.Suvendu Adhikari Calls It a Premeditated Political HitAdhikari has been unequivocal in his assessment of the killing, describing it as a targeted political act. He alleged that Rath was shot because of his association with him and his political victory over former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur."This was a planned operation. A recce was conducted for several days, and the victim was followed before being shot at close range," Adh

LiveMintMay 12

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Politics

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takelivebengal

Updates: "Don't Take Law Into Your Hands": Suvendu Adhikari Appeals For Calm

The police and administrative machinery of the newly installed Suvendu Adhikari-led BJP government in West Bengal seems poised for another sweeping recalibration in the months ahead, clear indications of which were apparent on the very first day, though officials indicated the exercise may unfold in phases.The transition towards a more stable administrative structure would follow the Election Commission of India’s unprecedented scale of pre-poll reshuffle across the State bureaucracy and police establishment, they said.The first unmistakable sign of the impending transition emerged within hours of Mr. Adhikari assuming office on May 9, as the government moved swiftly with two key appointments, followed by a series of re-appointments in the State’s mid-level bureaucracy.Retired IAS officer Subrata Gupta, who had served as the poll panel’s Special Roll Observer during the SIR exercise, was named Advisor to the CM, while Shantanu Bala, Additional District Magistrate of South 24 Parganas, was appointed Private Secretary to the CM – appointments widely viewed within administrative circles as the opening moves of a broader restructuring of the State apparatus.Gupta replaced two former chief secretaries – Alapan Bandyopadhyay and H K Dwivedi – who tendered their resignations as chief advisors to former chief minister Mamata Banerjee on May 5, a day after poll results confirmed a change of guard in the State.Mr. Bala, on the other hand, substituted career civil servant Gautam Sanyal, the erstwhile principal secretary to Ms. Banerjee who held the position as co-terminus with that of the former CM.Soon after, the State government initiated another significant churn within the administrative establishment, signalling a wider realignment of power corridors in Bengal’s bureaucracy.In a sweeping order, at least 46 WBCS (Executive) officers – who served as private secretaries and officers on special duty to ministers in the outgoing regime – were reassigned to new postings across the State administration.The ripples of the transition extended swiftly to the nerve centre of governance itself, with the State also reshuffling 16 officers attached to the Chief Minister’s Office.“The Mamata Banerjee government never cared for meritorious IAS and IPS officers of the State, isolated them, often forcing them to leave Bengal,” CM Adhikari told reporters on Saturday (May 9, 2026).“But, this government will need these officers to implement the policy decisions the new cabinet makes,” he added, hinting at a fresh overhaul in the State’s police and executive network.In the run-up to the assembly elections announced on March 15, the ECI unleashed an unprecedented administrative upheaval across Bengal, transferring as many as 483 officials in one of the most sweeping pre-poll crackdowns the State has witnessed in recent memory.The reshuffle cut through every tier of governance – from the highest echelons of the bureaucracy and police leadership to district administrations, returning officers, BDOs and hundreds of officers posted at police stations across the State.The scale of the exercise dwarfed similar actions undertaken in other poll-bound States put together, underscoring the ECI’s determination to tighten its grip over Bengal’s volatile and violent electoral landscape.At the heart of the overhaul lay a dramatic recasting of the State’s power structure. Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravorty was moved out and replaced by Dushyant Nariala, while Home Secretary Sanghamitra Ghosh took charge in place of J .C. Meena.Director General of Police Peeyush Pandey was removed, with Siddh Nath Gupta appointed acting DGP, even as Kolkata Police Commissioner Supratim Sarkar was transferred and succeeded by Ajay Kumar Nand. Pandey was later reassigned as the State’s Director (Security), replacing Manoj Kumar Verma.The administrative tremors did not stop there.The ECI also ordered the removal of 19 senior IPS officers – including six police commissioners and 13 district

The HinduMay 10

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Killers of Suvendu’s aide still at large; post-poll violence continues in Bengal

Security personnel and people gather as mortal remains of Chandranath Rath, PA of Suvendu Adhikari, are being taken away after the post-mortem examination from Barasat Medical College, in Kolkata. | Photo Credit: ANI The assassins of Suvendu Adhikari’s personal assistant, Chandranath Rath, are still at large two days after the murder even as more incidents of post-poll violence have been reported from across West Bengal. Police recovered a second motorbike used by the killers to escape. Another bike and a car, both with fake registration plates, have already been seized.Police suspect that local criminals may have provided information to the killers who shot dead Rath from point-blank range in North 24 Parganas’ Madhyamgram while he was in a moving car. Rath was shot three times and was declared dead at a nearby hospital. While forensics collected samples from the crime scene, it did not find any fingerprints in the car used by the assassins, sources said. However, police have recovered CCTV footage from the place.Sources said one unit of the Special Investigation Team has gone to Uttar Pradesh to trace connections of the killers. ADG CID and the DG of BSF inspected the scene of the crime in the Doharia locality of Madhyamgram. Post-poll violence continuesCrude bomb blasts were reported from the Panihati constituency, police said on Thursday (May 7, 2026). At least five Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) workers were injured and are now undergoing treatment. The Panihati constituency has been won by Ratna Debnath, the R.G. Kar victim’s mother, on a BJP ticket. “A blast happened here, but it was a little far away from my home. Two people were severely injured, and total seven were admitted to the hospital,” Ms. Debnath said. Blasts have also been reported from Howrah’s Sibpur area and visuals went viral on social media. Both the Trinamool Congress and the BJP said that they have each lost three party workers in the violence. Incidents of arson, vandalism, and clashes have been reported from multiple parts of the State since May 4, the day results were declared. Published - May 08, 2026 07:42 pm IST

The HinduMay 9

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Dawood's aide Salim Dola, deported to India, lived as ‘Hamza’ in Turkey: Report | India News

Dawood's aide Salim Dola, deported to India, lived as ‘Hamza’ in Turkey: Report | India News Hindustan Times

Hindustan TimesMay 1

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