By IANS,
New Delhi : The Supreme Court Friday extended the bail of three West Bengal police officials facing trial for allegedly driving Kolkata resident Rizwanur Rahman to commit suicide at the behest of his influential father-in-law Ashok Todi, who disapproved of his marriage with his daughter Priyanka.
While extending the bail of Kolkata’s former Deputy Commissioner of Police Ajay Kumar, former Assistant Commissioner of Police Sukanti Chakraborty and Sub-Inspector Krishnendu Das, a bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justice P. Sathasivam also issued a notice to the West Bengal government and the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Rizwanur, a 30-year-old graphic designer working with a multimedia firm here, was found dead Sep 21 last year near the railway tracks at Kolkata’s Patipukur suburb, barely a month after marrying Priyanka Todi, daughter of industrialist Ashok Todi.
The family members of Rizwanur, however, alleged that he was murdered and did not commit suicide.
On a plea filed by Rizwanur’s family, the Calcutta High Court said Aug 14 this year that Rizwanur was forced to commit suicide and asked the CBI to file chargesheets in the lower court against six accused – Ashok Todi and his brother Pradip Todi, brother-in-law Anil Sarangi and three police officials Ajay Kumar, Sukanta Chakraborty and Krishnendu Das.
The main allegation against the three police officers is that they harassed the deceased at the instance of Ashok Todi, who was opposed to the marriage of his daughter Priyanka Todi with Rizwanur and asked him to dissolve it.
The three policemen earlier surrendered before the trial court Sep 30 but were granted interim bail.
The high court, however, later on a plea by Rizwanur’s mother Kishwar Jahn had cancelled their bail.
Seeking relief for the policemen, senior counsel Mukul Rohtagi argued that his clients had committed no wrong. He argued that even the criminal case lodged against them merely accused them of threatening Rizwanur.
The bench extended the bail of the three policemen agreeing with Rohtagi’s contention that threatening a person was a minor offence and was bailable.
The three policemen approached the apex court in November, when the apex court suspended the Calcutta High Court order and cancelled their bail.
The Todi brothers too moved the apex court against the high court order cancelling their bail. The apex court asked Ashok Todi to surrender before the trial court Dec 1, when the trial court took him in custody.
Ashok Todi’s younger brother Pradip Todi and brother-in-law Sarangi too were asked earlier by the apex court to surrender before the trial court Dec 8.