WB: Muslim youth's kin plead for action

The mother and elder brother of Rizwan Rahman, who died under mysterious circumstances, on Friday prayed before the Calcutta High Court that criminal proceedings be started against five officers of Kolkata Police, including Police Commissioner Prasun Mukherjee, for their alleged interference in his marriage with a Hindu girl.

Citing a Supreme Court judgment, their counsel Kalyan Banerjee submitted before Justice Soumitra Pal that criminal proceedings should be initiated against Mukherjee, two deputy commissioners of police and two other officers of the force for interfering in the inter-religious marriage of two consenting adults.

Banerjee submitted that the Supreme Court, in a judgment in 2006, had clearly directed that criminal proceedings should be started against those who illegally intervene in an inter-religious marriage.

Rizwan's body was found on railway tracks at Dum Dum in Kolkata on September 21 following his marriage with Priyanka, daughter of industrialist businessman Ashok Todi on August 18.

In between, Rizwan was summoned to the police headquarters thrice and was allegedly threatened with serious consequences if he did not let go of Priyanka, Banerjee submitted.

Priyanka was finally sent to her parent's home after the third summon on an assurance that she would be sent back to Rizwan after a week.

Banerjee also referred to Prasun Mukherjee's press conference where he supported the police action saying: "Who else will do it, the Public Works Department?"

Banerjee, appearing for Keshwar Jahan, Rizwan's mother and Ruqbanur, his elder brother, also claimed the judicial commission set up by West Bengal government into Rizwan's death will serve little purpose as a state-appointed commission could not summon IPS officers who are from the Central cadre.

As such, the commission could not summon the commissioner, DCP (headquarter) Gyanwant Singh and DCP (detective department) Ajoy Kumar as were are IPS officers, the counsel said.

He said while his clients had little faith in the CID probe ordered by the state into the young computer graphics teacher's death, the judicial commission will be able to unravel little given the circumstances.