By IANS,
Kolkata : Saying Muslim youth Rizwanur Rehman was provoked to commit suicide last year, the Calcutta High Court Thursday asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file charges against six people, including his father-in-law, industrialist Ashok Todi.
Justice Dipankar Dutta said: “Rehman was provoked to commit suicide by his in-laws, Ashok and Pradip Todi, and four police officers – Gyanwant Singh, Ajay Kumar, Sukanta Chakraborty and Krishnendu Das – last year. The CBI should file chargesheet in the lower court against them as soon as possible.”
Rehman, a Muslim, had married Ashok Todi’s daughter Priyanka, a Hindu, last year. A graphic designer, he was found dead by the railway tracks of Patipukur in north Kolkata Sep 21, 2007, barely a month after the marriage. As a Hindu-Muslim love story gone horribly wrong, the death had shocked the entire nation.
Ashok Todi and his brother Pradip, along with four city police officers, were subsequently accused of threatening and pressurising Rehman to stay away from Priyanka.
Justice Dutta said it was wrong to call Rehman and his wife Priyanka to Lalbazar – the Kolkata police headquarters – for investigation.
“Even after Rehman presented the legal documents and proof of his marriage with Priyanka Todi, why were they called to Lalbazar a number of times?”
“Besides, the Kareya Police Station, where Rehman went to seek help against the Todis and the four police officers, also made a mistake by not filing his complaint,” Dutta said.
The court also criticised ex-police commissioner Prasun Mukherjee for defending the police officers and giving wrong information about Rehman’s death to the media.
“The report presented by West Bengal’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was also misleading,” the court said.