KOLKATA - The mystery surrounding the death a police officer, who initially investigated controversial Rizwanur Rehman case, deepened Friday with a top Eastern Railway official saying since January there was no report of anyone being run over by a train in West Bengal.

The body of Arindam Manna, the second officer of the Government Railway Police (GRP) at Dum Dum, was found near the Mankundu railway station. It bore injury marks on legs, hands and eyes.

‘We are yet to receive a report that says a person has been run over by a train under our territory since Jan 1,’ Eastern Railway chief safety officer Gunanand Jha told IANS.

But when asked, if that hinted Manna did not commit suicide by jumping in front of a train, but was murdered, Jha refused to comment.

Meanwhile, police sleuths Friday recovered a SIM card beside the rail tracks of Mankundu station.

‘We have recovered a SIM card from Mankundu rail tracks. But whether it belonged to Manna or someone else, we won’t be able to tell now. It has been sent to the forensic laboratory for examination,’ Additional Director General of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Bhupinder Singh told IANS.

Following allegations from the relatives of Manna that he was murdered, the state government handed over the case to the CID.

Rizwanur, a 30-year-old graphic designer working with a multimedia firm, was found dead Sep 21, 2007, near the railway tracks at Kolkata’s Patipukur suburb, barely a month after his marriage with Hindu girl Priyanka, daughter of local industrialist Ashok Todi, who was firmly opposed to the match.

As a Hindu-Muslim love story gone horribly wrong, Rizwanur’s death had shocked the entire nation.

Todi, his brother Pradeep, brother-in-law Anil Saraogi and four city police officers - 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 were subsequently accused of threatening and pressurising Rizwanur to annul his marriage with Priyanka and stay away from her.

All the seven accused were later arrested but are now out on bail.