Slain aide of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari cremated in native village

The mortal remains of Chandranath Rath, the slain aide of senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, were consigned to flames in his native village in Purba Medinipur district on Thursday, as thousands of villagers mourned his death. Buddhadeb Maity, another villager, said that during his visit on Wednesday, Adhikari repeatedly cautioned the people against any post-poll violence.

The mortal remains of Chandranath Rath, the slain aide of senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, were consigned to flames in his native village in Purba Medinipur district on Thursday, as thousands of villagers mourned his death. The body of Rath, a former Indian Air Force employee, was draped in the national flag when it was kept on a field in his village Kulup for the people to pay their tribute. Several BJP leaders including Dibyendu Adhikari, brother of Suvendu, were present there. Earlier, a post-mortem examination was conducted on the body at Barasat Hospital in North 24 Parganas district. After that, a hearse took the remains of the 42-year-old man to his village, around 123 km away from Kolkata. Rath, the executive assistant of Suvendu Adhikari, was shot dead in his car by motorbike-borne assailants at Madhyamgram on Wednesday night. The shocking development took place within 48 hours of the assembly poll verdict. The BJP trounced the Trinamool Congress which had ruled West Bengal since 2011. Rath worked with Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in the outgoing West Bengal assembly, for more than eight years, when the MLA was in the TMC. Adhikari stayed at the Barasat Hospital for over three hours during his autopsy process. As his body reached Kulup village in Chandipur area, his mother and other members of the family were inconsolable and were comforted by neighbours and family friends. Rath's mother demanded life imprisonment instead of a death sentence, as she understood a mother's pain. She is also a BJP activist in Purba Medinipur. Kamala Jana, a woman living close to Rath's ancestral house, recalled his last visit to the village only on Wednesday when he had accompanied Adhikari as part of the thanks-giving for electing Adhikari by a huge margin from Nandigram. ''His mother had prepared his favourite dish. He even had promised to attend a family wedding later this month and promised to meet all of us,'' Jana said. Buddhadeb Maity, another villager, said that during his visit on Wednesday, Adhikari repeatedly cautioned the people against any post-poll violence. ''By a cruel twist of fate, he himself turned out to be the latest victim of violence. We want severe punishment for all those involved,'' Maity said. As the villagers came on the streets, the body was taken to the primary school where he had studied and the playground before proceeding to the crematorium, as thousands followed the hearse, braving the rains. Adhikari said BJP leaders of Purba Medinipur would stand by Rath's wife and daughter.