By IANS
Kolkata : The Calcutta High Court Wednesday asked the West Bengal government to file a detailed affidavit by Thursday about the person who informed the police about the body of Rizwanur Rehman, a Muslim youth who died under mysterious circumstances last year.
Justice Dipankar Dutta said: “In cases of unnatural death, it is mandatory to record the details of the person who first informed the police about the body. In this case, the report submitted by the state neither mentions the name of the person who alerted the Dum Dum Government Railway Police (GRP) nor exact words of what he said.”
Rizwanur, a graphic designer, was found dead by railway tracks in north Kolkata Sep 21, 2007, barely a month after his marriage to Priyanka, daughter of Kolkata-based industrialist Ashok Todi.
Allegations were brought against four city police officers, Ashok Todi and his brother Pradip Todi for threatening and pressurising Rizwanur to stay away from Priyanka.
Justice Dutta noted the report vaguely mentions that a railway guard of a local train informed the GRP that a body has been found lying by the railway tracks in Patipukur.
However, counsel for the Rehman family, Kalyan Banerjee told IANS: “The guard said that a body of a 55-year-old was lying by the tracks, while Rizwanur was only 29. This confusion can only be cleared by the guard himself”.
Banerjee also alleged that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) report submitted Jan 8 had not dealt with this aspect properly and needs further investigation. The report concluded the case as one of suicide.
“State advocate general Bolai Roy even defended the accused four police officials of Lalbazar during the CBI investigation,” said Banerjee.
Rukbanur Rehman, the brother of Rizwanur, told IANS: “If the guard is to be believed, then surely Rizwanur’s body cannot be recovered from Patipukur. The court must order the CBI for further investigation”.