A
young, lower-middle class man, a daughter of a rich
businessman, united in marriage and sundered apart by
a tragedy—something that shocked the conscience of
Bengal and the nation. On September 21, 2007, Calcutta
was jolted by the fate of 29-year-old Rizwan, who had
fallen in love with Priyanka Todi, 23, the daughter of a rich
hosiery businessman. Though Rizwan and Priyanka had
secretly married despite the Todis’ fierce resistance, they
could live in the Rehman household for just over a week, and
barely a month into their marriage, the couple paid a terrible
price—Rizwan’s mangled body was found on the railway tracks
a few kilometers away from his home.
In his death, Rizwan became a cause celebre: Calcutta
erupted in protests; this tale of an educated, albeit poor,
Muslim man hated by a money-shark of a father-in-law had
equal elements of drama, intrigue, blighted love, and was
framed by the terrible injustice of it all. The flames were
fanned further after reports emerged about the involvement
of top police officers allegedly acting at the behest of Todi to
separate the couple. Mamata Banerjee, then Opposition leader
in the state, led the agitation demanding justice for Rizwan.
It became a political hot potato for the Left Front government.
Over a decade on, a plaque at the entrance of a narrow alley-
way in the working-class neighbourhood of Ghosh Bagan in
Park Circus reads: ‘It’s better to have loved and won than
never to have loved at all’. Sitting under the portrait of her
dead son, Kishwar Jahan, 74, tells Outlook in a quivering voice:
“All I want is justice for Rizwan before I die.... I don’t know why
they (the CBI) are delaying the case. Those (people) responsi-
ble for my son’s death should be punished. Prominent people,
including Mamata Banerjee, who visits me every year, have
promised me justice.... My son died for love and I wish the girl
(Priyanka Todi), who we still consider our daughter-in-law,
well and hope she is happy.”
Whether Rizwan’s death was murder or suicide still remains
in dispute, and the sensational case trundles on in a city ses-
sions court. Rukbanur Rehman, Rizwan’s older brother, a sit-
ting, two-time Trinamool Congress legislator, is determined.
“If needed, we will move the constitutional bench of the
Supreme Court,” Rukbanur says. After the mur-
der snowballed into a massive controversy, the
Calcutta High Court in 2007 ordered a CBI probe
into Rizwan’s death. A fast-track city court in
2011 framed charges against Priyanka’s father
Ashok Kumar Todi and his brother Pradeep, for
abetment of suicide.
“The SC has instructed the CBI to continue with
that charge and trials are on,” says Rukbanur.
“We are not wealthy people...it is like pitting
the right of justice for lower- and mid-
dle-class people against the might of
money...a fight for acknowledgement
of the common man’s rights,” he adds.
Priyanka, since the death of her hus-
band, has rarely been seen in public.
She is believed to have left the
country and settled abroad. O
Probir Pramanik in
CalcuttaWhen Justice
Stopped Dead in
Rizwan Tracks
COVER STORY
44 OUTLOOK 29 July 2019
SANDIPAN CHATTERJEE