CBI Arrests Fifth Accused in Chandranath Rath Murder Case; Probe Intensifies Across States

Kolkata, May 2026 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday arrested the fifth accused in connection with the high-profile murder of Chandranath Rath, personal assistant of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. Officials confirmed that the arrested accused has been identified as 40-year-old Vinay Rai, also known as Pumpum Rai, a resident of the Zamani area in Ghazipur district.

According to central agency officials, the arrest marks a significant development in the ongoing investigation, which has been spreading across multiple states including West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Delhi. The CBI is actively tracing a wider network allegedly involved in planning and executing the murder.

Earlier on Monday, the agency had arrested the suspected main shooter, identified as Rajkumar Singh, from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh with the assistance of the Uttar Pradesh Police. CBI sources confirmed that Singh is a resident of Chhapar village in the same state.

A coordinated operation between the CBI and local police was launched on Sunday after intelligence inputs indicated his possible movement across northern India. Initially, investigators raided a house in the Swaroop Nagar area of Delhi, but Singh was not found there. He was later intercepted near a toll plaza on the Haridwar–Delhi highway on Monday, around 30 kilometres from Muzaffarnagar. Officials suspect he was attempting to flee towards Haridwar via Delhi to evade arrest.

Following his detention, Rajkumar Singh was placed under transit remand and produced before a special CBI court in Kolkata on Tuesday for further proceedings.

Meanwhile, three other accused persons — Mayank Raj Mishra, Vicky Maurya, and Raj Singh — have already been taken into custody. A court has remanded them to police custody until May 24 for detailed interrogation. These arrests were made from different locations in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh as part of the widening investigation.

CBI officials revealed that Rajkumar Singh’s name surfaced during the interrogation of accused Mayank Raj Mishra and Raj Singh, leading investigators to intensify their search operations across multiple states.

The murder of Chandranath Rath, aged 41, has shocked political and administrative circles in West Bengal. Rath, who previously served in the Indian Air Force, was shot dead in Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas district late on May 6, just 48 hours after the announcement of the state’s high-stakes assembly election results.

According to eyewitness accounts and police findings, Rath was seated in the front passenger seat of a car when unidentified assailants on a motorcycle approached and opened fire before fleeing the scene. The driver of the vehicle was also injured in the attack.

Both Rath and the injured driver were immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, but doctors declared Rath dead on arrival.

Following the incident, the West Bengal Police initially constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and arrested two suspects from Uttar Pradesh along with an alleged sharpshooter from Buxar in Bihar. However, given the complexity and inter-state nature of the crime, the case was later handed over to the CBI for a deeper and more comprehensive investigation.

After taking over the probe, the CBI re-registered the case as a regular criminal matter under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. These include Section 103(1) related to murder, Section 61(1) for criminal conspiracy, Section 111(2)(a) pertaining to organised crime, along with Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act.

The investigation was originally initiated based on a complaint filed by the victim’s brother, who alleged that Rath’s killing was the result of a well-planned and coordinated conspiracy involving multiple unidentified individuals.

During court proceedings, Public Prosecutor Advocate Bivas Chatterjee informed the bench that the prosecution had also sought additional charges relating to destruction of evidence. The court accepted the request and included the additional charges in the case.

Political attention has also remained high following the incident. West Bengal Chief Minister visited Rath’s residence to attend the funeral ceremony and met the bereaved family. He assured Rath’s mother, Hasirani Rath, that all those involved in the crime would be brought to justice.

The CBI has stated that the investigation is still in progress and further arrests are likely as agencies continue to unravel the full conspiracy behind the murder.