Kolkata, May 18 (IANS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a youth from Uttar Pradesh on suspicion of involvement in the murder of Chandranath Rath, who was the personal assistant to West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.

The accused was arrested on Monday from a toll plaza in Uttar Pradesh. According to sources, he was allegedly planning to flee to another location via Delhi.

CBI sources identified the accused as Rajkumar Singh, a resident of Chhapar in Uttar Pradesh. A joint operation involving the CBI and local police was carried out on Sunday.

The investigating team had earlier raided a house in Delhi’s Swaroop Nagar area, but Rajkumar could not be traced there.

He was eventually apprehended near a toll plaza on the Haridwar-Delhi Highway on Monday. The location is around 30 km from Muzaffarpur. Investigators suspect that he was attempting to flee through Delhi and Haridwar.

The state police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) has already arrested three persons in connection with the murder case. According to CBI sources, the name of Rajkumar Singh surfaced during the interrogation of accused Mayank and Raj Singh.

Chandranath Rath was shot dead on the night of May 6, just two days after the results of the West Bengal Assembly elections were announced. The incident took place in Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas district.

Rath was seated in the passenger seat of a car when unidentified assailants arrived on a motorcycle, opened fire and fled the spot. The driver of the vehicle was also injured in the attack.

Both Rath and the injured driver were rushed to hospital shortly afterwards. However, doctors declared Rath dead.

Following the incident, the state police formed an SIT to probe the murder and subsequently arrested two accused from Uttar Pradesh and an alleged sharpshooter from Buxar in Bihar.

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had visited Rath’s residence on Sunday to attend the funeral service. He assured Rath’s mother, Hasirani, Rath, that those responsible for the murder would be brought to justice.

Hasirani Rath said she had faith in the Chief Minister.

–IANS

sch/pgh