In a new twist to the tale surrounding the mysterious death of Rizwanur Rahman, his widow Priyanka Todi, on Saturday, shifted the blame for the tragedy from the police to her brother-in-law, Ruqbanur and his family friend, Pappu.

Breaking her silence to a private TV channel here for the first time since Rehman’s death on September 21, Priyanka Todi said, “Rizwanur was not close to his brother as they had some fundamental differences. But after our marriage, Ruqbanur was always with us and so we trusted him blindly.” She claimed that things would have been different had Ruqbanur and Pappu not interfered in their conjugal life.

Priyanka alleged that Ruqbanur had tried to force her husband to sign divorce papers. “I learned that on September 19 Pappu took money from my uncle to make Rizwanur sign divorce papers. On the same night, Ruqbanur turned against Rizwanur and tried to force him to do the same,” she said. Stating that she did not know what happened on September 21, she said “I feel something must have happened between September 19 and 21, as in the letter to the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR), Rizwan had clearly stated that he had been under no threat or pressure till then.”

It is rumoured that Ashok Todi, owner of multi-crore Lux Cozi hosiery group, had paid Rs 11 lakh to Syed Mohiuddin, better known as Pappu, to separate the couple.

According to sources, Todi reportedly confessed to the CBI that the deal was struck after Pappu gave assurance that Priyanka would come back to her father’s place.

Priyanka said she was yet to come to terms with the tragedy and that her life has come to a standstill after her husband’s death. “I don’t know what I should do. I just can't think of anything else,” she said.She added she was also saddened by some statements made by her brother-in-law after Rizwanur’s death, adding: “The manner in which my personal belongings were displayed before the media hurt me deeply.”

‘Charges are false’

Rizwanur’s mother Kishwar Jahan described Priyanka’s latest charges as “false” saying, “I am their mother and I know my sons best. These charges are false.”

Ruqbanur added, “I wonder why Priyanka is levelling such charges after so many days. Either, she’s under pressure to influence the investigation or it’s an attempt to mislead CBI officials, who will be submitting their chargesheet very soon. It’s a well-hatched conspiracy.” Social activist and APDR president Sujata Bhadra whom Rizwanur had contacted two days before his death, alleged that Priyanka has been deviating from the letter she and Rizwanur wrote to the police after Ashok Todi reportedly threatened Rizwanur.

Rizwanur was found dead on September 21 with his head smashed near a railway track barely a month after their marriage.