The judicial enquiry ordered by the West Bengal government into the mysterious death of computer graphics teacher Rizwanur Rehman will not be able to unravel the truth, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi said on Monday. The minister also demanded an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the matter.
"Only a CBI enquiry can bring justice to the grief-stricken mother of the deceased," said Dasmunsi, in the first such reaction by a top leader of the Congress. "A CBI probe has not only been demanded by the bereaved family, but also by the people of West Bengal," he said.
He added, "In a CBI probe, justice can be done in an expeditious manner and on the basis of its reports, the government can take action." There were a number of instances, he said, when a state government did not act on the basis of the report in a judicial enquiry.
Dasmunsi questioned the Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee government's decision to entrust a retired judge with the judicial enquiry. "Why a retired judge? Why not a sitting judge?" queried Dasmunsi.
He referred to the allegations against senior officials of the Kolkata police who had allegedly threatened Rizwanur to part with his Hindu wife and said, "I call upon Chief Minister Bhattacherjee to order a CBI probe".
The computer graphics teacher was found dead near railway tracks on September 21 following his marriage to Priyanka, daughter of influential businessman Ashok Todi, on August 18.