Kolkata court sends industrialist Todi to jail

A Kolkata court Monday sent industrialist Ashok Todi to jail till Dec 12 for his alleged role in his son-in-law Rizwanur Rahman's mysterious death last year.

Metropolitan Magistrate Madhumita Roy sent Todi to jail after turning down his bail plea when he surrendered before the court earlier Monday.

Roy slated the next hearing Dec 12 after listening to the heated arguments between Todi's lawyer Pradip Ghosh and the lawyer appointed by Rizwanur's mother Kishwar Jahan, Kalyan Banerjee.

The Supreme Court last Tuesday stopped the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from arresting Todi but asked him to appear before the Metropolitan Magistrate's court in Kolkata Monday in response to the arrest warrant issued by the court earlier.

The order came after Todi challenged the arrest warrant of the Kolkata court for his failure to appear before it Oct 27. The apex court also directed the Kolkata court to consider Todi's bail plea the day he appeared before it.

Besides Todi, the CBI named six others for their alleged role in abetting Rizwanur's suicide.

These include Todi's brother Pradeep, brother in-law Anil Saraogi, former Kolkata police deputy commissioner Ajoy Kumar, former assistant commissioner of police Sukanti Chakraborty, sub-inspector Krishnendu Das, and Rizwanur's neighbour S.M. Moinuddin alias Pappu.

According to the chargesheet, Todi had driven Rizwanur to commit suicide by preventing him from meeting his daughter Priyanka, who had married Rizwanur against her parents' wishes.

Rizwanur, a 30-year-old graphic designer working with a multimedia firm, was found dead Sep 21 last year near the railway tracks at Kolkata's Patipukur suburb, barely a month after marrying Priyanka.

Last updated on Dec 1^st, 2008 at 21:01 pm IST--IANS