The mysterious death of Rizwanur Rehman, a bright young graphic designer in kolkata, one of the several murder mysteries that are still unresolved in India.
On September 21, 2008, his body was found dead between Dumdum and Bidhannagar railway station.
The body covered with injury marks and head smashed a month after marrying local business tycoon Ashok Toddy’s daughter against her families wishes.
Before his mysterious death, the youth had accused Lalbazar, the head quarter of Calcutta police of pressuring his wife to return to her father and threatening to arrest Rizwanur for kidnapping if she didn’t, according to his family and an NGO whose help he had sought.
According to the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR),Rizwanur’s complaint said that Assistant Commissioner (anti rowdy section) Sukanti Chakraborty and deputy commissioner(Headquarter) Gywant Singh had tried persuasion. Later City Detective Chief Ajay Kumar issued the arrest threat on September prompting the girl to go back for seven days to Todi’s Saltlake home from where she never returned.Later,all the accused police officers including Police commissioner were transferred.
On September 23, then police commissioner Prasun Mukherjee stormed out of a media conference unable to answer questions about his force’s interference in the marital life of Rizwanur (30) and PriyankaTodi (23) .He declared that Rizwanur committed sucide though at the time the post-Mortem report had not yet been made public.
According to Rizwanur’s family,Singh, Kumar and other police officers summoned Rizwanur and his wife Priyanka thrice in Lalbazar in less than two weeks. But the fact was that top police officers of West Bengal police was aware of the threats issued by the anti-rowdy squad (ARS) of the city force to Sadique Hussian a witness to the marriage of Rizwanur and Priyanka Todi .
Sadique had complained that an ARS sub inspector Krishnendu Das had threaten him over the phone and urged him to say that Rizwanur had married Priyanka against her will .Sadique has also accused another ARS officer Assistant Commissioner Sukanti Chakrabarty of threatening him.The apex court had earlier asked the Police to protect adult couples if their families are against the marriage.
Later CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) took over the case.But after the investigation they came to the conclusion that he committed suicide and charged his father-in-law,business magnate Ashok Todi and six other including three police officers,with abatement to suicide.A special court in Calcutta took cognizance of the CBI chargesheets in the Rizwanur case and issued summons to the seven accused.But his family still believes that he was murdered.
Priyanka Todi told Investigators that she still loved Rizwanur and could not believe he could leave her by herself.Priyanka daughter of businessman Ashok Todi also confirmed Rizwanur’s complaint mentioned that the couple were under pressure from her family and senior police officers.CID officials who visited the Todi residence at Saltlake recorded her statement for over three hours.According to her, her father broke the news of Rizwanur’s death to her on September 21 the day his body was discovered .Priyanka told the sleuths that her father came to Rizwanur’s Tiljala lane house in South Calcutta on August 31, hours after she left her parents and informed them of her marriage .In her statement Priyanka’s said she agreed to meet her father after hearing that he was ill and left thee Tiljala home on September 8.
- Two police officials accused of pressuring Rizwanur Rahman to end his marriage with Priyanka Todi informed the investigative officers that they were only following instructions from their superiors.