'Kolkata graphic designer committed suicide'

Kolkata: Ending months of speculation, the CBI yesterday said that graphic designer Rizwanur Rahman had not been murdered and indicted police officers and his in-laws for abetting his suicide.

The Muslim youth's mysterious death soon after marrying a Hindu industrialist's daughter had sparked massive protests.

The Central Bureau of Investigation's report submitted to the Calcutta High Court last month was read out by judge Dipankar Dutta yesterday. The report accused Rizwanur's in-laws, including his father-in-law Ashok Todi, and several police officials of abetting his suicide but ruled out murder as alleged by the youth's family.

The death unleashed an unprecedented civil society movement in West Bengal for justice, with many accusing the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government of "shielding" policemen.

"The CBI report said Rizwanur was not murdered. He committed suicide. The CBI also asked the state government to initiate criminal proceedings against Rizwanur's father-in-law Ashok Todi, his relative Anil Sarogi and three Kolkata Police officials - Ajoy Kumar, Sukanti Chakraborty and Krishnendu Das," said Kalyan Bandopadhyay, lawyer of Rizwanur's family.

The CBI also asked the government to take disciplinary action against former Kolkata police commissioner Prasun Mukherjee as well as another Indian Police Service officer Gyanwant Singh and personnel of the Karaya police station in central Kolkata where Rizwanur went for justice but was threatened.

The investigating agency has nailed social worker Pappu, a family friend of the Rahmans, for his role in abetting the youth to take his life and allegedly accepting money from the Todis. The final hearing would start March 12 while all respondents were asked to file their affidavits by March 6.

The family of Rizwanur, whose body with the head smashed was found by a railway track on September 21 nearly a month after he married Priyanka Todi, daughter of Lux Cozi group chief Todi, said they would comment after going through the entire CBI report. But they could not hide their disappointment.

"We wanted a CBI probe and we were happy with the probe. But we are also disappointed because we still hold that Rizwanur was murdered. The CBI must have some technical grounds to term the death a suicide," Rizwanur's brother Rukbanur Rahman said. "We are, however, happy that all the names we took after Rizwanur's death were mentioned in the report as abettors to the suicide," Rukbanur said.

"I want punishment for the guilty. I cannot say that CBI did not do enough but I feel my son was murdered," added his mother Kishwar Jahan. Priyanka was forced to leave the house of Rizwanur, it was alleged.