CBI detains two brothers over killing of Suvendu Adhikari's aide, probes rival party ties

The Central Bureau of Investigation apprehended siblings Sagar Sonkar and Sahib Sonkar for their alleged role in the assassination of Chandranath Rath, a trusted assistant to West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari. Rath was shot dead on May 6 while traveling on Jessore Road near Madhyamgram, two days after the state election that saw the BJP replace the Trinamool Congress in power. Authorities allege Sagar coordinated the hit by hiring gunmen and providing the necessary funds, and that his phone logs reveal repeated calls to the local office of a rival political party, a connection now under scrutiny.

The CBI, having assumed the investigation from the West Bengal Police, has already detained six suspected shooters and several facilitators, with one suspect still at large. A seven-member special investigation team led by a Deputy Inspector General from the CBI’s Special Crime unit is handling the probe, and the brothers are slated to appear before a Kolkata special court on Friday.