Afresh political controversy broke out in the Chandranath Rath murder probe, the close aide of West Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, after the CBI on Thursday released a person allegedly ‘wrongfully’ arrested in the case, leading to a strong political backlash.
Identified as Raj Singh, a 28-year-old, was apprehended by the West Bengal Police SIT on May 10. He was subsequently produced during the investigation and was released on May 20 after the CBI concluded that he was incorrectly detained due to a mistake with another accused’s name, Rajkumar Singh.
Officials said the mix-up began after two suspects, Vicky Maurya and Mayank Mishra, were detained earlier from Bihar’s Buxar district. During interrogation, the name “Raj Singh” surfaced, leading UP Police to detain a different individual from Ayodhya, who was later handed over to Bengal authorities.
The CBI has since clarified that the arrested Raj Singh was not linked to the alleged shooter and was released after verification of records.
Political Reactions Intensify
The incident quickly escalated into a political flashpoint, with opposition leaders accusing agencies of misuse of power and wrongful detention.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Manish Sisodia launched a sharp attack, alleging systemic misuse of police and investigative agencies. In a post on X, he said, “Raj Singh and his family are devotees of the BJP. They must have clapped even for the police encounters glorified to the extreme, the ED-CBI raids, and the arrests in fake cases. They would have applauded all of this, too. The BJP must have gained even more courage from their applause–that whenever they want, on whatever charge they desire, they can arrest anyone, carry out encounters,” he wrote.
He further added, “But thank God. They were spared. Otherwise, the blind-devotee media would have been screaming at the top of its lungs to the country about how the BJP’s police had gunned down the mastermind. The very applause they gave for the BJP was about to turn into bullets for their own encounter. Thank God.”
Victim Claims Custodial Pressure
After his release, Raj Singh alleged he was wrongly identified and subjected to pressure during custody. He claimed he was threatened and forced to confess to a crime he had no connection with.
“I was wrongfully arrested, mistaken with another Raj Kumar Singh. I had gone to Ayodhya with my mother for darshan. While coming back home, a police team arrested me. They did not listen, nor ask for evidence. They threatened me with an encounter and tried to force me to confess,” ANI quoted Singh as saying.
He further alleged that custodial pressure continued after he was taken to Kolkata.
“Later, I was taken to Kolkata, where the CID tortured me to admit a crime I had not committed. They intended to frame me as a criminal,” he added.
CBI Tightens Probe Despite Error
Regardless of the mistaken arrest debate, the probe has kept growing. A CBI suspect linked to the conspiracy was apprehended after he was identified as an arms supplier, while a man named Rajkumar Singh was identified and arrested in Muzaffarnagar as the suspected mastermind of the shootout.
The accused in the case also includes a Ghazipur-based Vinay Rai alias Pampam, who was arrested in the case as the CBI started a widened investigation for a suspected conspiracy involving more than one person.