Kolkata, Sept.27 : The West Bengal CPI(M) leadership is in a spot of bother over the recent death of a Muslim youth in the city under mysterious circumstances.

Opposition parties like Trinamul Congress and the Congress have already started a political campaign against the ruling Marxists, holding a section of Kolkata police responsible for the youth’s death.

While the opposition parties’ aim is to exploit the sentiment of the minority community with an eye on the civic and panchayat elections next year, the CPI(M) and the state administration appear to be on the defensive.

The Marxists’ predicament over the issue has become all the more apparent with some major Left Front partners like the RSP and the Forward Bloc publicly criticizing the role of the city police and demanding a judicial probe into the youth’s death.

Rizwanur Rahman, a youth belonging to a middle-income family, who married Priyanka Todi, daughter of a rich businessman, was found dead with a fractured head near a railway track in the northern suburbs after the girl’s parents sought the help of the city police to “get their daughter back.”

A section of police officers, belonging to the anti-rowdy section, had earlier created pressure on the young couple and the bridegroom’s family to take Priyanka back to her parents. All this caused considerable mental agony to the couple who refused to relent.

The police, however, persuaded the bride to visit her family after her father was allegedly taken ill with the promise that she would be allowed to come back to her in-law’s place within a short time.

The girl never returned and all the efforts made by her husband to contact her failed. A depressed Rizwanur subsequently left his house after receiving a call on his cell-phone, never to return.

The matter created a flutter in the political circles here following media exposure of the role of police officials in the tragedy.

Things came to such a pass that city police commissioner Prasun Mukherjee convened a press conference “to clear the misgivings” about the role of concerned police officers.

However, the police chief could not explain why the officers tried to intervene into the registered marriage of two adults.

He also described Rizwanur’s death as a suicide or the result of an accident, thereby ruling out murder. The youth’s family members wondered how Mukherjee could make the sweeping remarks without waiting for the post-mortem report and accused him of shielding the “guilty police officers.”

The issue assumed a political colour with Trinamul Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee visiting the youth’s family and holding the city police directly responsible for the tragic death.

The Trinamul Congress also organized a public rally in the city yesterday where Ms Banerjee and Rizwanur’s relatives accused the CPI(M) leadership of “offering money” to them to hush up the case.

The finger of accusation has been raised against city mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, CPI(M) MP Mohammad Selim, ministers like Abdus Sattar and Abdur Rezzak Molla as well as party leader Robin Deb. The concerned CPI(M) leaders and ministers, who visited the youth’s family after his death, however, have denied the allegation, saying they had gone only to console and help the family.

The matter has become complicated with state CPI(M) secretary and Left Front chairman Biman Bose making a complete U-turn on the role of the city police. Bose, who had earlier sided with the city police chief giving a clean chit to his officers, yesterday conceded that the police had harassed the couple.

Bose’s rethink on the issue is clearly aimed at assuaging the minority community in the city which has been hurt by the police’s role.

However, his public criticism of the police officers has certainly caused considerable embarrassment to the city police chief as well as Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee who also holds the home portfolio.

Bhattacharjee has tried to wriggle out of the situation by ordering a CID probe into the youth’s death. However, the opposition parties appear determined to take their current movement to a fever-pitch if the state government tries to hush up the case. (With inputs from ANI)