Kamal Ghorui
LUCKNOW: Amid the ongoing probe into the murder of Chandranath Rath, personal assistant to West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari, the mother of arrested Ballia resident and alleged sharpshooter Raj Singh has claimed that her son was with family members in Lucknow and Ayodhya when the ambush took place in Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas on May 6.Jamvanti Singh, while speaking to journalists at her home, said Raj Singh had travelled with her to Lucknow on May 7 to attend the wedding of the daughter of a local MLC, identified as Pappu Singh.She claimed the group included Raj Singh, a driver, one of his friends, another acquaintance and herself.According to her, the family stayed at a guest house near the wedding venue in Lucknow.“Raj attended the wedding and returned around midnight. We slept there and the next morning got ready to leave for Ambedkar Nagar,” she said.Jamvanti alleged that after leaving Lucknow, the family visited the shrine of Makhdoom Ashraf Baba in Ambedkar Nagar, where they offered a ceremonial chadar. She claimed local people at the shrine knew Raj Singh and could verify their visit.From there, she said, the family travelled to Ayodhya for darshan. “We completed the darshan and later stopped to eat because the we all were hungry,” she said, adding that police officials intercepted their vehicle while they were leaving the area.According to her account, Raj Singh was taken away by police personnel, while she herself was kept overnight at a women’s police station.“I did not know what had happened to my son. The next morning, around 11 or 12, I was briefly allowed to meet him,” she alleged.Jamvanti further claimed that officials informed her that a Kolkata police team had arrived and was taking Raj Singh away by flight for questioning in connection with the case.“They said it was only for interrogation and that he would be released later, but since then we have had no information about where exactly he is,” she alleged.Maintaining her son’s innocence, she claimed Raj Singh had remained with the family between May 1 and May 9 and had not travelled elsewhere. She said CCTV footage from their home and market visits could support her claims.“We have cameras at home. We went shopping in the city and bought items. Everything can be checked,” she said.She also alleged that Raj Singh attended wedding functions on May 7 and 8 before being detained on May 9 and allegedly taken away the following day.Breaking down repeatedly during the interaction, Jamvanti appealed to authorities and the central government for justice.“My son has done nothing wrong. Please conduct a proper investigation and find out the truth,” she said.Raj Singh was recently detained by a Special Investigation Team probing the murder of Chandranath Rath, the personal assistant of Suvendu Adhikari, in a case that has drawn significant political attention in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.
