A local court has rejected the CBI's request for firearm custody in the Chandranath Rath murder case, intensifying the investigation into the West Bengal politician's associate's death.
Key Points
- A Ballia court rejected the CBI's plea for custody of firearms related to the Chandranath Rath murder case.
- The CBI sought the weapons for forensic analysis in connection with the May 6 murder of Suvendu Adhikari's associate.
- Naveen Kumar Singh was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh STF based on CBI inputs and found to be in possession of illegal firearms.
- The recovered items included pistols, revolvers, live cartridges, and a mobile phone, allegedly linked to the West Bengal murder investigation.
A local court here has rejected a CBI plea seeking custody of firearms recovered from a man arrested in connection with the killing of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's associate Chandranath Rath, prosecution officials said on Friday.
CBI Seeks Forensic Analysis of Seized Weapons
The Central Bureau of Investigation had moved an application before the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Shailesh Kumar Pandey on Thursday, seeking custody of the seized weapons for sending them to a forensic laboratory in connection with the May 6 murder.
Senior prosecution officer P N Swami told PTI that the court rejected the agency's plea.
Revision Petition Planned After Court Rejection
Later, CBI officers held discussions with local prosecution authorities regarding the future course of action, and the agency is now preparing to file a revision petition against the order, prosecution sources said.
Arrest and Recovery of Firearms
The police said the weapons were recovered from Naveen Kumar Singh, 35, a resident of Thamhanpura village under Phephna Police Station limits.
Naveen Singh was arrested on Wednesday by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF), following inputs shared by the CBI, which is probing the murder case.
An FIR under the Arms Act was registered at Phephna Police Station on the complaint of STF inspector Anil Kumar Singh.
Details of the Investigation
According to the complaint, the STF received information from the CBI that Naveen Singh was allegedly in possession of illegal firearms linked to the murder investigation in West Bengal.
The police said an STF team from Varanasi came to Ballia on May 19 and detained Naveen Singh near Vishunipur.
During questioning, Naveen Singh allegedly told investigators that Gyanendra Pratap Singh alias Mannu, Raj Kumar Singh and Golu Singh had met him on May 7 in a Swift Dzire car, and Mannu handed him a bag carrying firearms.
The STF recovered the bag from near a Mahindra showroom on the national highway.
The police said the seized items were three pistols, one of them foreign-made, two revolvers, 45 live cartridges of .32 bore, three empty shells, and a mobile phone.
