Ashok Todi, the Burrabazar businessman in the public glare. Picture by Amit Datta

The mysterious death of Rizwanur Rahman has thrust into the limelight Ashok Todi, a low-profile Burrabazar businessman.

The owner of Rs 200-crore-plus Lux Hosiery Industries is the father of Priyanka, who married 30-year-old Rizwanur on August 18.

When the girl, around 23 years old, informed her family members about the marriage, they did not take it well.

The Todis allegedly pressured Rizwanur to sever connections with Priyanka, but he did not yield. On Friday morning, his body, with several injuries and head smashed, was found along the railway tracks between Dum Dum and Bidhannagar Road stations.

The family could not be contacted since the body was found. The gate of their house in Salt Lake’s CG block has remained locked.

“I took the entire family to the airport a few days ago. They were supposed to return within a few days but there is no news of them till now,” said the family’s driver Sundar.

Police said they are clueless about the family’s whereabouts. “We have been trying to get in touch with Ashok Todi,” said Gyanwant Singh, the deputy commissioner of police (headquarters). The officers have learnt from Rizwanur’s note to an NGO that the Todis were in Hardwar. “We do not have any plan of sending a team to Hardwar to bring them to the city,” added Singh.

Silence and inaction are alien to Ashok, who is credited for the meteoric rise of the brand Lux. “The Todis have been in the hosiery business for 35-40 years but it flourished only in the last 10 years or so. They floated their IPO during this time,” said a family friend.

The company, based in Calcutta, is giving national brands like Rupa Frontline a run for their money. Lux products have been endorsed by stars like Sanjay Dutt, Sunny Deol and Prosenjit.

The business started humbly on KK Tagore Street, in Burrabazar, where the family lived. The Todis moved to the house in Salt Lake after the business flourished.

Earlier this year, Ashok celebrated his 25th marriage anniversary with a bash at a five-star hotel on the EM Bypass. Singer Sunidhi Chauhan performed in the programme.

Ashok was also in the forefront of religious activities in the city.