‘How can father know who son meets?’ Another arrest in Suvendu aide murder case

Raj Kumar’s family claimed they were unaware of their son’s alleged involvement in the crime or of any link between him and Raj Singh.

“I have heard about the arrest of Raj Singh in the murder case, but I never imagined that my son would be booked in the same case,” said Raj Kumar’s father, Tribhuvan Narain Singh, who works as an electrician. “I have no information on whether Raj Singh had any connection with my son. Neither I nor any member of our family ever heard Raj Kumar mention him.”

Raj Kumar is the second of Tribhuvan Narain Singh’s three children. The young man had been looking for work opportunities outside Ballia.

Tribhuvan Narain Singh said he had hoped his son would learn electrical work and join him in the trade, but he appeared restless and determined to pursue a different line of work.

“Despite all my efforts, I could never persuade him to learn electrical work,” the father said. “He always dreamed of doing something bigger. After completing Intermediate, he spent most of his time roaming around the district, so I decided to send him out for work.”

According to the family, Raj Kumar enrolled in a graduation course but dropped out. His father sent him to Mumbai to look for a job, but he returned soon after.

“He returned from Mumbai and said the weather there did not suit him. In Mumbai, he had worked for some time on a platform and later took up a job as a security guard,” Tribhuvan Narain Singh said.

UP police say Raj Kumar’s activities extended beyond what his family knew. A senior police officer said he had worked as a driver in Faridabad for a brief period — a detail his family claims they were unaware of.

Recalling the moments before the family learned of the arrest, Tribhuvan Narain Singh said the first indication came through a random phone call. “Yesterday, we received a call from a man who identified himself as a CBI officer speaking from Muzaffarnagar. He informed us that Raj Kumar Singh had been detained in connection with the murder of Chandranath Rath.”

The father said the call came a day after a team of plainclothes officers arrived at their home in two vehicles. The officers questioned family members about Raj Kumar’s whereabouts before leaving.

The family insists it has no links to Bengal and says the allegations have left them shocked and confused.

“We have no relatives or connections in West Bengal,” Tribhuvan Narain Singh said. “I cannot say with certainty whether my son ever visited Kolkata or not. I don’t know whether he had any links with influential people. Once a young man leaves home, how can a father know whom he meets or where he goes?”

The father described his relationship with his son as distant in recent years, suggesting that Raj Kumar rarely shared details of his life outside the village. “He mostly kept to himself and maintained a distance from me. There was very little chance that he would tell me anything about his activities.”

Tribhuvan Narain Singh, who was working as a technician in Ayodhya and returned home recently, said there are a few cases of assault against his son.

Ballia police said there are three cases of assault against Raj Kumar.

Forty-one-year-old Chandranath Rath, a close aide of Suvendu Adhikari, now Bengal’s Chief Minister, was shot dead in Madhyamgram late on May 6, shortly after the BJP’s thumping win in the Assembly polls.

The investigation, initially conducted by Bengal police, is now with the CBI. The central agency has registered a case under multiple sections, including murder and criminal conspiracy. Earlier, three accused – Mayank Raj Mishra, Vicky Maurya, and Raj Singh – were arrested in the case.