Murder probe hits on suicide - CBI sees threats, separation as causes

Rizwanur Rahman: Cumulative effect

What started as a murder probe has concluded that the death of Rizwanur Rahman on September 21 was a case of suicide.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) claims to have established through “scientific and electronic evidence” that the 30-year-old had taken his own life on the railway tracks in Patipukur.

In the report to be submitted to Calcutta High Court on January 8, the investigating agency will blame the “cumulative effect” of “separation from his wife Priyanka Todi” and “attempts to intimidate him” as the cause for suicide.

Rizwanur, according to CBI sources, had realised “the utter hopelessness of the situation” by September 20. “By then, he apparently trusted nobody, not even his family members,” revealed a CBI official.

The final touches to the report are being given. “If an abetment to suicide clause is included, two members of the Todi family, four police officers, a member of the Rahman family and a friend will be named,” revealed a source.

An abetment to suicide charge is punishable with imprisonment up to 10 years.

The lengthy deliberations between CBI director Vijay Shankar and his officers till late on Friday apparently centred around the fate of the four Calcutta police officers under a cloud — Gyanwant Singh, Ajoy Kumar, Sukanti Chakraborty and Krishnendu Das. The probe has given former police commissioner Prasun Mukherjee a clean chit.

An uncle of Rizwanur will be named in the report for having deleted the last letter Rizwanur had written. It was retrieved from the computer’s hard disk at a forensic laboratory in Hyderabad. “The letter helped us understand his mental condition,” revealed a CBI official.

The last name on the list could be that of Pappu, a friend of Rizwanur’s elder brother Rukbanur Rahman. The Telegraph had earlier blown the lid off the Rs 11-lakh cash transaction between the Todi family and Pappu.

On September 19, Pappu had taken Rs 6 lakh with the promise of getting Rizwanur to sign divorce papers. Rizwanur had refused.

Rukbanur said on Friday the family still believed his brother was murdered. “The CBI must corroborate its claims that he committed suicide,” he said.