4 min readLucknowJun 5, 2026 12:00 PM IST
First published on: Jun 5, 2026 at 11:59 AM IST
A 42-year-old history-sheeter, who the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was looking for his alleged involvement in the murder case of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s personal assistant Chandranath Rath, surrendered before a local court in Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia on Thursday, police said. The CBI on Thursday also arrested another accused, identified as Golu Singh (25), from Ballia for his alleged involvement in the Rath murder case, widening a probe that has stretched across state borders, officers added.
With the arrest of Golu Singh and the surrender of Gyanendra Pratap Singh alias Mannu, the CBI has so far named seven persons — five from UP and two from Bihar— as accused in the case, officers said.
“Golu was produced before a local court of Ballia and CBI took his 48 hours transit remand to take him to West Bengal for investigation in the case,” said Sanjeev Singh, the district government counsel in Ballia. Police said that Golu has no criminal record.
Meanwhile, officers said that Mannu has a criminal record spanning around 10 cases.
Mannu is facing several charges under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, officers said, adding that The Gangsters Act case against him was registered in 2023.
“Gyanendra Pratap Singh was sought by the CBI for his alleged involvement in the murder of Chandranath Rath”, said Station House Officer (SHO), Bansdih Road police station (Ballia), Vansh Bahadur Singh.
According to the police, Mannu appeared before the Ballia court after it had issued a non-bailable warrant against him for failing to appear in proceedings under the UP Gangsters Act.
“Following his surrender on Thursday, the court remanded him to judicial custody,” said Sanjeev Singh, the district government counsel in Ballia. He added that the CBI has so far not filed any application in the court seeking Mannu’s custody in the murder case.
Meanwhile, in a purported video which was widely shared on social media, Mannu’s wife, Mahima Singh, maintained that her husband was innocent and said she had full faith in the investigation being conducted by the CBI.
In the purported video, she said her husband had voluntarily surrendered before a court on Thursday and denied allegations linking him to the Rath murder case. She claimed that Mannu had been falsely implicated, adding that she was confident that the investigation would establish the truth.
Mahima Singh also acknowledged that CBI officers and local administrative officials had visited their residence several times in recent days as part of the investigation and had questioned family members.
Meanwhile, another purported video circulating on social media allegedly shows Mannu claiming that he intended to surrender and appear before investigators. In the video, he alleges that he was falsely implicated in the case at the behest of a local resident.
The five others arrested earlier in connection with the Rath murder case are Mayank Raj Mishra and Vicky Maurya, both from Buxar district in Bihar, as well as Rajkumar Singh, Vinay Rai and Naveen Singh. Of these, Rajkumar Singh and Naveen Singh are residents of Ballia district while Vinay Rai is from neighbouring Ghazipur district.
Rath, the personal assistant to Adhikari, was shot dead in Madhyamgram on May 6. (File Photo) 
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