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No Id festivities at Rizwanur's home

Last updated on: October 01, 2008 14:39 IST

There will be no biryani this Id ul Fitr at Rizwanur Rahman's house. In fact Rizwanur's mother Kishwar Jehan will never cook her younger son's favourite dish. Id ul Fitr will never be the same at Rizwanur's Tiljala Lane house in Kolkata.

rediff.com caught up with Rizwanur's brother Rukbanur late on Tuesday night, soon after former deputy commissioner of police (detective) Ajay Kumar and two other police officers, included in the chargesheet in the Rizwanur Rahman death case, were sent to 14 days' judicial custody.

"Id ul Fitr always used to be a gala event at our place, thanks to Rizwanur's zest. He used to invite his friends over for lunch and dinner. He used to decorate the house himself. We all would sing and dance late into the night and would keep our neighbours awake," Rukbanur said.

"Not any more. Ammi does not make biryani any more, nor does my wife. Id ul Fitr has lost its significance. However, this year we have some reason to feel happy. We have taken a small step towards retribution. But nothing can bring Rizwanur back to us.

"We will keep a close watch on the court proceedings for the next few days. Hame insaaf chahiye at any cost. Even if that means going to the Supreme Court."

According to Rukbanur, many questions about Rizwanur's death still remain unanswered:

a. Who called Rizwanur around 7.30 am on September 21, the day he died?

b. If he had committed suicide, why did his body bear strangulation marks?

c. If he was run over by a train, why and how did his mobile remain intact?

d. When it takes hours for any train accident victim's body to be removed from an accident site, why was Rizwanur's body removed within half-an-hour of the mishap?

e. Those who buried Rizwanur said 'they were sure he had been strangulated'.

f. A man named Indranil Ghosh claimed he had seen Rizwanur being kidnapped from a north Kolkata location about half-an-hour before his body was discovered. The CBI grilled Ghosh, but he was later termed mentally unbalanced.

g. Rizwanur always carried his mobile in his trouser pocket, informs his uncle Aqilur Rahman, but when his body was discovered, the mobile was in his shirt pocket.

h. Rizwanur almost always kept his mobile on vibrator mode but when it was recovered from his body, it was in ringtone mode.

"Rizwanur had every right to live, he had every reason to love. Those who quashed his love and smothered his life should not be spared. Whatever be the court verdict, the offenders would never be forgiven by the Allah," Rukbanur says.

All this while, his mother kept mum, her eyes brimming with tears. Silence can really be deafening at times.

Indrani Roy Mitra in Kolkata