Bengal Political Killings: Zero In Records, Different Story On Ground

The killing of Chandranath Rath, personal assistant to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, has once again highlighted a recurring question in West Bengal: How many political killings actually take place and how many get officially counted?

Rath was shot dead at point-blank range in North 24 Parganas just days after the 2026 election results. This incident, one of the most high-profile political killings in recent years, is not isolated but part of a longer pattern that raises serious concerns about how such crimes are recorded.

Data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows that West Bengal reported 47 political murders from 2014 to 2021. However, since 2022, NCRB data shows zero political killings in the state. This is despite multiple incidents of political violence reported on the ground.

A comparison with media-reported cases reveals a stark gap.

In 2022, at least 10 people were killed in the Birbhum (Bogtui) massacre, where houses were set on fire in retaliation for the murder of a local political leader. Yet, NCRB data records zero political killings that year. The gap widened further in 2023.

West Bengal's panchayat elections were marked by widespread violence across districts, with more than 40 people killed during the election cycle. Despite the scale of violence, the NCRB again recorded zero political killings.

In 2024, while the intensity of violence was lower, media reports still documented around five to six deaths linked to election-related clashes. But here too, the NCRB data remained unchanged at zero.

From Birbhum in 2022 to the panchayat violence of 2023, and now the killing of a top political aide in 2026, West Bengal's political landscape continues to witness violent flashpoints even as official data paints a different picture.

The numbers may be zero on record. But on the ground, the story is far from it.