By IANS
Kolkata : West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya Thursday ordered a judicial probe into the mysterious death last week of a Muslim youth who had married the daughter of an industrialist Ashok Todi.
Todi, meanwhile, appeared before the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) after remaining in hiding since Rehman Rizwanur’s body was found beside a railway track with head smashed on Sep 21.
“I have ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident since the issue has several dimensions – money power, social and communal – and the feedback since Sep 24 from various official and other sources prompted me to order a judicial probe along with a CID probe I had earlier ordered,” said Bhattacharya.
“I have requested former Calcutta High Court judge Alok Chakraborty to conduct the probe,” Bhattacharya said.
“No police officer would be shielded. The government will make no attempt to protect anybody. The entire episode has stirred the people,” he said when quizzed on the role of the top Indian Police Service (IPS) officers who allegedly harassed the Rizwanur Rahman at the behest of his father-in-law.
Welcoming the judicial probe, the youth’s brother Rukbanur Rahman said, “We have always demanded a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) probe but we think this gesture from the chief minister (a judicial probe) is very welcome.”
Todi, accompanied by lawyers, appeared before the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officials who interrogated him for hours.
Mediapersons jostled and a huge crowd had gathered at the CID headquarters Bhabani Bhavan in Alipore as Todi arrived. His daughter Priyanka, however, was not present.
West Bengal Sports and Transport Minister Subhas Chakraborty said police officers who had been named for their alleged intimidation of Rizwanur to come out of the marriage should be removed first to ensure fair probe.
A day ago, eminent litterateur and Magsaysay award winner Mahasweta Devi demanded immediate removal of Kolkata police chief Prasun Mukherjee over the mysterious death as she hit the streets with other intellectuals alleging the episode was a case of police complicity and attempted cover-up.
Rizwanur, a 30-year-old graphics designer, was found dead with a head injury beside a railway track Friday. His family members and neighbours alleged that he was getting threat calls from some police officers after he married Priyanka Todi of Salt Lake in northeastern Kolkata.
Mukherjee in a press conference almost defended the Todi family, dubbing the death as suicide even before a post-mortem report was available.
The main opposition Trinamool Congress has, meanwhile, insisted on a CBI probe and punishment for the police officials allegedly involved.
Rizwanur was in touch with Sujato Bhadra of the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR), a human rights body, before his death and had made written complaints about harassment by cops.
Bhadra said a letter from Rizwanur clearly mentioned the names of top cops like Gyanwant Singh (deputy commissioner of police headquarters), Ajay Kumar (deputy commissioner, detective department-I) and police officer Sukanta Chakraborty as the ones who harassed him.