Overview
- The CBI arrested 35-year-old Navin (Naveen) Kumar Singh in Ballia on Thursday and detained him in connection with the May 6 shooting of Chandranath Rath.
- Investigators seized a cache of weapons from the suspect that has been sent to a forensic lab to check whether any piece matches the gun used in the attack.
- A Ballia magistrate denied the CBI’s request to take formal custody of the seized firearms and the agency is preparing a revision petition to challenge that order.
- The probe, now re-registered by the CBI under murder, criminal conspiracy, organised‑crime provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and sections of the Arms Act, has already produced multiple arrests in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
- One previously detained man, Raj Singh, says he was wrongly arrested and tortured and was released after the CBI told a court he had no role; the case’s timing soon after state election results has raised political sensitivity and places extra emphasis on forensic results and legal rulings next.