Fake number plate, erased chassis: Questions emerge in Suvendu Adhikari aide's killing

The registration number displayed on the seized Nissan Micra actually belonged to another vehicle owned by Siliguri resident William Joseph, police said.

Day after BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari's close aide and personal assistant was shot dead, a small hatchback car with a fake number plate has emerged as a key part of the investigation into the murder.

Chandranath Rath was shot dead near Madhyamgram in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district on May 6, 2026, two days after BJP secured a clear majority in the assembly elections.

Car details used by the attackers

Police suspect the attackers used the hatchback, identified as a Nissan Micra, to block Rath’s white Scorpio SUV after it slowed near a traffic signal on Wednesday night.

According to investigators, three men riding two motorcycles then emerged, opened fire at Rath and fled the scene.

"A suspicious vehicle that allegedly blocked the way of Rath's car has been seized. However, the number plate attached to it was found to be fake," Director General of Police Siddh Nath Gupta told reporters at the spot.

Police officials said the small car was spotted travelling towards Madhyamgram in CCTV footage before the killing.

According to investigating officials, the attackers may have later escaped in the same vehicle after opening fire before abandoning it at a deserted location.

They suspect the assailants then fled either on motorcycles or in another vehicle to move more easily through crowded roads.

Fake registration number used

"The chassis number and engine number of the small car have been erased. It indicates that they had earlier planned the murder. The number of the small vehicle belongs to one person based in Siliguri, an employee of a tea estate," a police officer said.

Police said the registration number displayed on the seized Nissan Micra actually belonged to another vehicle owned by Siliguri resident William Joseph.

Investigators later found that Joseph’s vehicle carrying the same registration number was parked at his residence in Siliguri, around 557 km away from Madhyamgram.

According to police, Joseph had recently posted an advertisement on OLX to sell his vehicle, a detail investigators are now examining as part of the probe into how the registration number may have been duplicated.

"It seemed that the killers copied the registration number and used it so that they could not be traced," the officer said.

Rath, who hailed from Chandipur in Purba Medinipur district and was known to be one of Adhikari’s closest associates, was reportedly returning home to Madhyamgram from Kolkata when he was attacked near Doltala around 10.30 pm.

Police said motorcycle-borne assailants tailed Rath’s vehicle, forced it to stop and opened fire before fleeing.

Doctors at the private hospital where Rath was taken said he had sustained multiple bullet injuries.

"The victim was brought dead with two bullet injuries on his chest, which pierced his heart, while another bullet struck his abdominal area. There was no opportunity to resuscitate him," a doctor at the hospital told PTI.

Meanwhile, BJP MLA Shankar Ghosh claimed he heard gunshots during a phone conversation with Rath moments before the attack.

"I have no words. Chandranath was very close to all our MLAs in the Assembly. He was Suvendu da's trusted aide. I have nothing more to say," Ghosh told reporters at the hospital, reported Hindustan Times.

Ghosh said he was speaking to Rath over the phone around 10 pm while returning from Ultadanga.

"We were discussing Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's proposed presence at a swearing-in programme at Brigade Parade Ground on Saturday," he said.

"Suddenly, his voice changed. I heard some groaning sounds and then what seemed like gunshots. After that, there was silence," Ghosh claimed, according to PTI.

According to the BJP MLA, he repeatedly tried to contact Rath after the call disconnected.

"I sent him a message asking, 'Are you alright?' There was no reply. When I called again, an unknown person answered and informed me that Chandranath had been shot," he said.

Ghosh said he informed Suvendu Adhikari about the incident before rushing to the hospital.

The BJP has alleged that the killing was "pre-planned".

Police are continuing their investigation into the murder and examining CCTV footage, vehicle records and other forensic evidence to trace the attackers.