A chilling eyewitness account has shed new light on the final moments of Chandranath Rath, who was shot at close range in a late-night attack. The witness, who rushed to the scene minutes after the gunfire, claims Rath was still alive—struggling to speak—when he was pulled out of his bullet-riddled vehicle.
The incident unfolded around 10:20 pm, when the eyewitness, a local resident, had stepped out to feed stray dogs. Suddenly, he noticed people running past him, shouting that someone had been shot. Initially unaware of the gravity of the situation, he followed the commotion to a parked Scorpio vehicle—only to encounter a scene of chaos and bloodshed.
“In the beginning, I couldn’t understand what had happened,” the eyewitness said. “But when I reached the vehicle, I saw someone slumped inside. The windows were shattered with bullet marks.” According to him, another car had been positioned in front of the Scorpio, effectively blocking its path.
He recounted that the vehicle doors were opened, revealing a horrifying scene inside. “The seats were soaked in blood. Someone inside said, ‘Sir has been shot.’ When we lifted them, both victims were still alive. We immediately decided to rush them to the hospital,” he added.
The witness also claimed he alerted the police and noticed at least three empty bullet shells lying near the vehicle. A small car without a number plate was reportedly stationed ahead, which investigators now believe was used to intercept Rath’s vehicle in the narrow lane.
Preliminary findings suggest that the attackers arrived on motorcycles and fired multiple rounds at point-blank range after blocking the Scorpio’s movement. The sheer intensity of the attack left Rath critically injured, leading to his death shortly after.
Despite the brutality of the crime, significant questions remain unanswered. No arrests have been made so far, and investigators continue to piece together the sequence of events. CID officials revisited the scene on Thursday, while forensic teams collected crucial samples for analysis.
Sources indicate that the unidentified car mentioned by the eyewitness has now been traced and is believed to have been stolen, adding another layer of complexity to the case.
As the investigation deepens, the eyewitness account is expected to play a pivotal role in reconstructing the crime and identifying those responsible for the targeted killing.
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