By IANS
Kolkata : Priyanka Todi, wife of graphics designer Rizwanur Rahman who died under mysterious circumstances here Sep 21, Saturday blamed her brother-in-law Rukbanur for the circumstances leading to the tragedy.
“The one thing I regret now is involving Rukbanur and his family friend Pappu in the matter. Rizwan and I should have resolved the differences with my family ourselves. If Rukbanur and Pappu had not been involved, things would not have ended in such a tragedy,” Priyanka told a television channel over phone, breaking her silence for the first time since Rizwanur Rahman’s death three months back.
“Rizwan was not close to his brother. They had some fundamental differences, which I don’t want to go into. But after the marriage, Rukbanur was always with us and so we trusted him blindly,” she said.
Priyanka alleged Rukbanur had even tried to force her husband to sign the divorce papers. “I learnt that on Sep 19, Pappu took money from my uncle to make Rizwanur sign divorce papers. And on the same night, Rukbanur had turned against Rizwanur and tried to force him to sign the divorce papers,” she said.
Priyanka said she was also hurt by some statements made by her brother-in-law after Rizwanur’s death. “Some of the false statements Rukbanur has made about me and in my name have really shocked and saddened me. The manner in which my personal belongings were displayed before the media also hurt me deeply.”
Asked whether their relationship had come under strain due to threats from the police, Priyanka said, “No there was no threat from anybody.”
Just before his death, Rizwanur was in touch with the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights, a human rights body, and had given a written complaint of the harassment by top cops.
Priyanka said she was yet to come to terms with the tragedy and her life has come to a standstill after her husband’s death.
“I don’t know what I should do. I just can’t think of anything else,” Priyanka said here.
The body of Rizwanur, 30, was found Sep 21 with his head smashed near a railway track barely a month after his marriage to Priyanka, daughter of industrialist Ashok Todi, owner of multi-million rupees Lux Cozi hosiery group.
It is rumoured that Ashok Todi had paid Rs 1.1 million to Syed Mohiuddin, better known as Pappu, to separate the couple.
According to sources, Ashok Todi reportedly confessed to the Central Bureau of Investigation about the role of Pappu. The deal was struck after Pappu gave the assurance that Priyanka would come back to her father’s place.
Speaking about her husband, Priyanka said Rizwanur was a quiet person and very soft too. “Basically he was an artist,” she said.
“How can I return to my in-laws house after what had happened? My in-laws had made a lot of statements before the media and levelled several charges against my father and my family. They didn’t even call me up, enquiring about my well being,” she said.