Todi denies Priyanka had married Rizwanur

Ashok Todi, father-in-law of the computer graphics teacher Rizwanur Rehman, who died on September 21, 2007, on Friday denied that his daughter Priyanka had married him and claimed that she was "taken" to the Muslim youth's house.

"It is denied and disputed that the deceased boy allegedly married my daughter Priyanka under the Special Marriage Act on August 18, 2007, in the marriage registration office of Sipra Ghosh," Todi said in an affidavit submitted to the Calcutta high court.

He also denied that after leaving his house in Salt Lake city, Priyanka had started her conjugal life at her husband's residence at Park Circus.

Todi's said in the affidavit that he denied that his daughter had informed him about her residing with her husband at her in-laws' house.

"I say that on August 31, 2007, I had gone to meet my daughter at 7B, Tiljala Lane, where she had been taken," he said in the affidavit.

Todi, a wealthy industrialist who has made his fortune in the hosiery business, also denied that the police had interfered with their conjugal life.

Todi denied and disputed that the police authorities interfered in their conjugal life without giving any written notice.

He also denied knowledge of Rizwanur or Priyanka being called to the Kolkata police headquarter Lalbazar without any authority of law or that police officers held out threats so that Priyanka would return to her parents as alleged by petitioner Ruqbanur Rehman, the computer graphics teacher's elder brother.

The affidavit, however, gave no indication about how and why Priyanka went back to her parents' house on September 8, 2007, two weeks before Rizwanur's body was found near railway tracks at Dum Dum area on September 21.

It had been alleged by the petitioner that Kolkata police officers, including the then deputy commissioner of police (headquarter) Gyanwant Singh and then DCP (detective department) Ajoy Kumar along with two others from the 'anti-rowdy' section of the detective department, had pressurised and mentally tortured Rizwanur.

Todi denied that the police officers were beneficiaries of any favour by him or they had allegedly harrassed Rizwanur or Priyanka at his behest.

The millionaire industrialist also denied that former cricketer Snehasish Ganguly, the elder brother of cricketer Sourav Ganguly, had introduced him to the then police commissioner Prasun Mukherjee for solving his problem regarding the alleged marriage.