Bharatiya Janata Party leader Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday described the targeted killing of his close aide Chandranath Rath as a cold-blooded murder in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district. Adhikari alleged that assailants conducted a reconnaissance before executing the attack late Wednesday and linked the violence to 15 years of Trinamool Congress rule, which he termed 'Mahajungle raj'.

Adhikari, who visited the hospital around midnight, told reporters the execution-style attack demonstrated prior reconnaissance by the killers. He stated that the Director General of Police has assured a full investigation while appealing to party workers not to take the law into their own hands.

The Trinamool Congress condemned the killing and demanded a court-monitored Central Bureau of Investigation probe. In a statement, the ruling party alleged that three TMC workers were killed in separate incidents of post-poll violence by BJP-backed miscreants over the last three days.

The killing has intensified political tensions in Bengal following a bitterly fought assembly election, with both parties trading allegations of intimidation and retaliatory attacks. The police investigation is ongoing as district authorities monitor the law and order situation.