iCloud to riverbed: How CBI zeroed in on Suvendu Adhikari aide killers

Rath was shot inside his vehicle in Madhyamgram in Kolkata around 10 pm on May 6. His associate Buddhadeb Bera was injured in the attack.

The chargesheet names 12 people, of whom all but Krishna Kumar Singh (from Bihar) have been apprehended. The arrested include Sagar and his brother Saheb Sonkar (both from Kolkata); Uttar Pradesh residents Vikash Mishra, Vinay Rai, Sanjay Rai, Gyanendra Singh, Raj Kumar Singh, Golu Singh and Naveen Kumar Singh; and Bihar’s Mayank Raj Mishra and Vicky Maurya.

There are 585 people listed as witnesses.

Sagar and Saheb, 20, were arrested on July 31, more than two months after the CBI held 11 people, including four alleged sharpshooters. The parents of the two brothers told The Indian Express earlier that they did not believe the police charges, as the two worked closely with not just Rath but also Adhikari, in his personal office, and played an active role in Adhikari’s Bhabanipur Assembly seat during the polls.

“Sagar was like Chandranath’s shadow. He looked after the financial transactions, even handled payments. Later, he took Saheb along and he too was employed by Chandranath,” said a relative.

Hatching of a plot

According to the CBI probe, Sagar had allegedly come to resent Rath as he saw himself as his equal and believed that getting him out of the way was the only way he could get close to Adhikari. Sometime in November 2025, the probe found, he allegedly “roped in his brother Saheb to procure phones and SIM cards in the names of other persons”.

Next, Sagar allegedly brought in Vikash Mishra, a school friend, who in turn knew Vinay Rai. The CBI claims WhatsApp call records show Sagar and Mishra, a resident of Salempur in Deoria, were in constant touch from January 20, 2026, onwards, allegedly “with the intent to hire contract killers”.

On January 30 this year, Vikash Mishra called Vinay Rai over WhatsApp, the probe found. According to the CBI, Rai has criminal antecedents with five criminal cases registered or pending against him, including that of murder. There were more calls between Sagar, Mishra and Rai, investigators said, alleging that on February 6, “in order to arrange the shooters… Vinay Rai contacted his acquaintance, Sanjay Rai, who was at Surat… and asked him to come to Dhanbad immediately”.

According to the CBI, after Sanjay Rai came to Dhanbad, Mishra arranged a meeting between him, Vinay Rai and Sagar, where “the modalities for committing the murder were allegedly discussed”.

Investigators say this was followed by repeated trips between Dhanbad, Kolkata, Ballia, Ghazipur and other locations.

Arrival in Kolkata

Not long after his meeting with Sagar, Sanjay Rai allegedly arrived in Kolkata and checked into a hotel under the name ‘Pankaj Singh’. The CBI says Sagar paid for his hotel stay and, later, for his accommodation in Salt Lake.

On February 18, says the agency, Sagar allegedly took Sanjay Rai on a recce of Madhyamgram, and of Rath’s office, the Assembly and High Court areas. An Uber driver allegedly identified the two. Sanjay Rai went back to Dhanbad the same day, but reportedly came back for reconnaissance in March and April.

On April 7, Sanjay Rai, Gyanendra Singh and Raj Kumar Singh visited a vehicle dealer in Patuli (Kolkata) and examined a Maruti Swift, as per CCTV footage procured by the CBI. On April 18, the vehicle was purchased for Rs 3.80 lakh, with CCTV footage and road toll records allegedly showing trips made in it to Dhanbad.

The CBI says that the accused also acquired a Nissan Micra and a Hero Super Splendor motorcycle, with the engine and chassis numbers of both obliterated. All the vehicles were subsequently fitted with fake registration plates, as per the agency.

The day of the murder

The shooters allegedly travelled to Kolkata from Dhanbad the same day, i.e. May 6. As per the reconstruction, via call-detail records, CCTV footage, and alleged communication between the men, before leaving Dhanbad, they split up.

“Krishna Kumar Singh, Gyanendra Singh and Sanjay Rai left for Kolkata in a Swift Car, whereas Mayank Raj Mishra, Vicky Maurya, Golu Singh and Raj Kumar Singh left in Nissan Micra,” the probe says, recording a toll tax payment enroute.

The CBI claims that Sagar informed Sanjay Rai of Rath’s location over FaceTime, and that Rai passed the information on to Gyanendra and Krishna.

As Rath’s car, a Scorpio, entered the Doharia Lane in Madhyamgram, Raj allegedly parked the Nissan Micra across to block it. Then, the probe agency alleges, Krishna and Gyanendra “committed murder of Chandranath Rath and attempted to murder Buddhadeb Bera”.

After the shooting, Raj, Krishna and Gyanendra allegedly got onto the Hero Honda Splendor parked nearby, and fled.

The motorcycle was found abandoned near the Gouri Kali Bari Bus Stand, and the CBI believes the men allegedly used the Swift next to drive back to Ballia, destroying or disposing of phones and SIM cards along the way.

The evidence