Kolkata, May 7 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday attributed Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee's defeat in the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency as the reason his executive assistant Chandranath Rath was murdered.
Speaking to reporters, Adhikari said that there was only one reason for killing Chandranath Rath.
"He (Rath) was my executive assistant. And Mamata Banerjee had lost to Suvendu Adhikari in Bhabanipur according to the results of the Assembly polls. This is the only reason," he added.
Condemning the incident, Adhikari said: "This is a personal loss to me. If I was not a BJP leader, maybe he would have not been targeted."
He added: "I feel that Rath's family members may think that if he (Rath) did not work for me or had I not defeated the (former West Bengal) Chief Minister (Mamata Banerjee) in Bhabanipur then maybe he would have not been killed."
Extending his support to Rath's family, Adhikari said that the family has demanded that the accused be arrested and immediately.
"The culprits should be charge-sheeted and convicted at the earliest," he added.
Emphasising that the murder was properly planned, the BJP leader said: "It was a pre-planned cold blooded murder. Even a recee was conducted before it."
Adhikari also added: "After conducting (Rath's) post mortem, the doctor said that four bullets were recovered from his body. They targeted all the passages of the heart. The bullets were shot from a very close range."
"They (attackers) had aimed to hit that part of his body which would lead to immediate death. The murderers were specialists and dangerous terrorists," he added.
Accusing the Trinamool Congress for the incident, Adhikari referred to the party as that of "murderers and rapists".
"They are not just thieves, but a company style gang of murderers and goons. All of them work for Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee," he said.
Adhikari also alleged that the Trinamool is attempting to "disrupt" the law and order before the swearing-in ceremony on May 9.
He expressed gratitude to the BJP and the public for standing by him in such a moment of crisis.
Adhikari said that several Left Front leaders also reached out to pay tribute to Rath.
About investigation into the case, the BJP leader added: "The West Bengal DGP has informed that the investigation has progressed. The motorcycle has been recovered from a distance of 4 km from the incident place."
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