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I love him, can’t believe he could leave me: Priyanka
A STAFF REPORTER

Priyanka Todi
Calcutta, Sept. 28: Priyanka Todi has told investigators that she still loved Rizwanur Rahman and could not believe he could leave her by herself, sources said.

“I still love Rizwanur. I wanted to spend my life with him,” Priyanka was quoted as telling a team of CID officials who met her a week after her husband’s body was found by the railway tracks.

Priyanka, daughter of businessman Ashok Todi, also corroborated Rizwanur’s complaint that the couple were under pressure from her family and senior police officers, the sources said.

CID officials who visited the Todi residence at Salt Lake today recorded her statement for over three hours.

“She has said her father and other family members were asking her to return. Priyanka has also recounted how senior officials from Lalbazar got involved in the case and the couple’s experience with the police,” a CID official said.

A team — led by CID special inspector-general Niraj Narayan Pandey — reached CG 235 around 7.30am. Priyanka’s parents were not allowed to enter the room in which the officers interacted with her.

“She is in shock, but not shattered. Her statement suggests that she agreed to marry Rizwanur after knowing his social and economic status,” said Bhupinder Singh, the CID additional director-general.

“Considering her mental state, we allowed her to speak whatever she wanted to say. We did not ask her questions,” added Singh.

Priyanka also shared details of her visits to Rizwanur’s house before marriage. “I went to Rizwanur’s house three times before getting married. He introduced me to his mother, sister and other family members as a friend. So, I was fully aware of the environment I have to live in after marriage,” she told the officers.

According to her statement, Todi, who owns the Rs 200-crore-plus Lux Industries, broke the news of Rizwanur’s death to her on September 21, the day his body was discovered.

“We were in south India then. First, I was told that he met with an accident and had to be hospitalised. Later, I was told he committed suicide. I could not believe he could leave me alone,” she said.

Priyanka told the sleuths that her father came to Rizwanur’s Tiljala Lane house on August 31, hours after she left her parents and informed them of her marriage.

In her statement, Priyanka said she agreed to meet her father after hearing that he was ill and left the Tiljala home on September 8. “I requested Rizwanur to wait a few more days after the stipulated one week was over. I wanted to take my parents into confidence. I was trying my best to convince them.”

Told about her statement, Rukbanur, Rizwanur’s elder brother, said: “Priyanka loved her husband and we are sure that she would speak the truth. She is a very strong girl and will expose the people who had harassed them and meddled in their personal