BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari's personal secretary shot dead in West Bengal's Madhyamgram

Initial reports said the victim was attacked at point-blank range after being followed for a while. 

According to local TV reports, the driver of his car also received injuries.

Rath received three bullet shots, two on his chest and the other on his stomach, and was declared dead when brought to the hospital.

The bike-borne miscreants, whose identities are yet to be ascertained, fled the spot after the attack. 

Chandranath Rath's car window was smashed as a result of bullet shots. Photo: IBNS.

Suvendu Adhikari, who is credited with the unprecedented Bharatiya Janata Party win in Bengal, has reached the spot. Besides him, ex-BJP state chief Sukanta Majumdar as well as other BJP leaders have also reached Madhyamgram where the incident took place.

A large number of police forced have been deployed as the area has already turned tensed with BJP workers expresing anguish over the incident. 

The killing comes at a time of heightened political tension in the state following the recent Assembly election results, in which the BJP registered a major victory.

Police are yet to officially confirm the motive behind the attack even as BJP leaders have directly blamed the TMC and Madhyamgram MLA Rathin Ghosh for the attack.

Chandranath Rath and his driver were taken to a nearby hospital. Photo: IBNS.

The incident is expected to intensify the already charged political atmosphere, with security concerns likely to dominate the discourse in the coming hours.

The police have already launched a search operation to nab the miscreants after scanning the CCTV footage from the area. 

Meanwhile, TMC leader Rathin Ghosh has won the Madhyamgram constituency in the recently concluded polls.

Chandranath Rath was a former Indian Air Force employee and had been serving as Adhikari's PA since a long time.