New Delhi, May 21: The CBI has arrested another accused from Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia district in connection with the killing of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s associate Chandranath Rath, officials said on Thursday.
Naveen Kumar Singh (35), a resident of Thamhanpura village under Phephna police station limits, was arrested on Tuesday night following inputs shared by the CBI, in coordination with the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) and local police, officials said.
According to the officials, Singh was produced before a court in Ballia in connection with a separate Arms Act case registered by the Uttar Pradesh STF. He was remanded in judicial custody and sent to Mau jail. He is also an accused in the murder case being probed by the CBI, they said.
Police sources said Naveen is facing two separate cases – one under the Arms Act registered by the STF and another linked to the murder investigation being handled by the CBI.
Ballia Superintendent of Police Omveer Singh said legal proceedings were initiated following the STF complaint, and the accused was remanded in judicial custody. The CBI is expected to seek his custody for further interrogation and possible transfer to Kolkata, officials said.
Acting on specific intelligence inputs, an STF team from the Varanasi unit reached Ballia on May 19 and carried out a search operation, during which a cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from Singh’s alleged possession, officials said.
During interrogation, Singh allegedly told investigators that Gyanendra Pratap Singh alias Mannu, a known criminal from Ballia, along with two others identified as Raj Kumar Singh and Golu Singh, had met him on May 7.
He further claimed that Mannu later handed him a bag containing firearms.
Police said the STF team was subsequently led to a car showroom along the national highway, from where the bag containing weapons was recovered. The seizure included three pistols, two revolvers, 45 live cartridges of .32 bore, three empty shells and a mobile phone. One of the recovered pistols is stated to have been manufactured in the US.
Officials said the seized firearms have been sent for forensic examination to determine whether they were used in the murder. The CBI, meanwhile, believes the weapons recovered from Singh could have a bearing on the sensational killing that took place in West Bengal on May 6, two days after the state election results, which saw the BJP defeating the ruling Trinamool Congress.
Investigators are also probing the vehicle allegedly used in the crime, a Nissan Micra suspected to have been purchased from Ballia.
A resident of Phulwaria village under Bansdih Road police station area, Jitendra Singh, has claimed that the vehicle was first purchased through him by a person identified as Mitthu alias Deepak for Rs 35,000 in October last year, and later sold on May 1 to Gyanendra Pratap Singh alias Mannu for Rs 50,000.
CBI teams have questioned him, officials said.
During investigation, it also emerged that Mannu, a resident of Sheetal Davni village under Bansdih Road police station limits, allegedly met Naveen along with the two other accused on May 7. Officials said Mannu and Golu Singh are currently absconding, while Raj Kumar Singh has already been arrested from Muzaffarnagar in connection with the case.
CBI officials had earlier visited Mannu’s residence in Ballia as part of the investigation.
Separately, a local resident Raj Singh, earlier arrested in connection with the case, has claimed he has been given a clean chit by both the CBI and the court. Speaking to PTI at his residence in Ballia’s Anand Nagar locality, he alleged that Special Operations Group (SOG) personnel mentally harassed him, threatened him with a fake encounter, and pressured him to confess.
Raj Singh, who identified himself as the state general secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha, claimed he was innocent and said he was falsely implicated in the case. He also alleged that he and his mother were detained by an SOG team while returning from Ayodhya after attending a wedding and visiting a dargah in Ambedkar Nagar district.
His mother, Jamvanti Singh, claimed that CCTV footage shows he was present in Ballia on the day of the murder. (PTI)
