By IANS,
Kolkata : Rukbanur Rehman, brother of Rizwanur Rehman who died under mysterious circumstances in 2007 a month after marrying a Hindu industrialist’s daughter, is fearing for life after the police officer who initially investigated the case was found dead in West Bengal’s Hooghly district.
The body of Arindam Manna, the second officer of the Government Railway Police (GRP) at Dum Dum, was found near the Mankundu railway station. It bore injury marks on legs, hands and eyes.
Rukbanur alleged Manna was murdered to remove the evidence concerning Rizwanur’s death.
“Manna was the first officer who started investigating the case. He was one of the key witnesses too. I am sure the culprits wanted him out of the way. So, they murdered him to remove the evidence surrounding (circumstances leading to) my brother’s death,” Rukbanur told IANS Thursday here.
“Now I am fearing for my life. I am also concerned about the threat to my family members’ lives.”
Rukbanur said the state government should provide them proper protection till the trial of the case is over.
“There are 184 witnesses, out of which around 25 are key witnesses in the Rizwanur case. It’s the state government’s responsibility to give us fool-proof police protection. But now I fear there is life risk for every one of us,” Rukbanur said.
However, he hoped the incident would not affect the trial of the Rizwanur case. The trial is scheduled to begin May 29.
Rizwanur, a 30-year-old graphic designer working with a multimedia firm, was found dead Sep 21, 2007, near the railway tracks at Patipukur suburb here, barely a month after his marriage with Priyanka, daughter of Kolkata industrialist Ashok Todi who was firmly opposed to the match.
As a Hindu-Muslim love story gone wrong, Rizwanur’s death shocked the entire nation.
Todi, his brother Pradeep, brother-in-law Anil Saraogi and four city police officers were accused of threatening and pressurising Rizwanur to annul his marriage with Priyanka and stay away from her. They all were arrested but are now out on bail.