How involved were West Bengal police officers in the death of the promising young graphics designer, Rizwanur Rahman, whose body was found on the railway tracks in Dum Dum three weeks ago? This is a question that requires a convincing answer as early as possible. And it is in pursuit of that answer that the West Bengal Human Rights Commission on Friday summoned five senior police officers. Much has written about the forces that were unleashed when Rizwanur Rahman married Priyanka Todi, after crossing deeply etched lines of religion and social status. The fierce opposition such marriages evoke is a familiar story, and not just in rural India. This April, the Bombay High Court and the MP High Court had to come to the rescue of a Muslim-Hindu couple from Bhopal, Mohammed Umer and Priyanka Wadhwani, who were facing death threats after their marriage. But what makes the Rizwanur Rahman case more intriguing is the possible involvement of top police officials in this death, either directly or indirectly. There are good reasons for this surmise. For one, it is a matter of record that senior sub-inspectors actually threatened Rahman to get him to part with Priyanka. Then there is the intriguing haste with which the police dismissed the death as a case of suicide. Kolkata Police Commissioner Prasun Mukherjee’s defence of the police action in his report is equally intriguing. The involvement of the police force in a private matter like the marriage of two adults cannot be condoned and the inevitable inference is that it was acting on the behalf of powerful interests opposed to the marriage. Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is certainly aware of the implications of Rahman’s death, going by the effort he took to meet Rahman’s mother. For the credibility of not just his police force but his administration, he should ensure that the case is handled with the high seriousness it deserves. All the more so, given his own well-known proximity to the police chief whose candidature for the presidentship of the Cricket Association of Bengal he had personally supported.
