Ashok Todi
Encyclopedia
Ashok Todi is an India
n industrialist, heading the Rs. 400 crore
Lux Hosiery group. The Lux Cozi
brand, currently India's most widely sold range of underwear, has sales totalling 100 crores.
, after his daughter Priyanka had secretly married the computer graphics teacher. The incident was initially treated as a suicide, with the police refusing to even file a First Information Report
of murder. It turned out that the police had pressurized Rahman excessively, possibly acting under pressure from the wealthy Todi. Several police officers including the commissioner were transferred. Eventually, Todi and four police officers were charge-sheeted for abetting suicide. However, there was intense media attention on the case, where a wealthy person was seen to be getting away with murder, simply because he did not feel that the commoner Rizwanur was a worthy husband for his daughter.
In May 2010 the Kolkata
High Court opined that the case be considered as a murder, and Ashok Todi was the prime suspect.
case, where the ganglord family of Bharti Yadav
disapproved of him. After Bharti's brother Vikas Yadav
murdered Nitish, the lower court initially let him off. It was only after intense media pressure that the wealthy scion was sentenced. The court observed at the time that the murder had been committed because a love marriage would not be acceptable to the family:
This type of murder has been termed "violence against relationships of choice.".
cricket team Kolkata Knight Riders
and its film-star owner Shahrukh Khan
cancelled a publicity contract with Lux Cozi after widespread anger was directed at them. There is a petition online for boycotting Lux hosiery products. However, the company appears to have been doing well, with a strong nationwide rural marketing network.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n industrialist, heading the Rs. 400 crore
Crore
A crore is a unit in the Indian number system equal to ten million , or 100 lakhs. It is widely used in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan....
Lux Hosiery group. The Lux Cozi
Lux Cozi
Lux Cozi is one of India's leading underwear brands, part of the Rs. 400 crore Lux Hosiery group. The brand turnover is about Rs. 100 crores, mostly from rural India....
brand, currently India's most widely sold range of underwear, has sales totalling 100 crores.
Rizwanur Rahman murder
In 2007, Ashok Todi was implicated as the prime suspect in the suspected murder of Rizwanur RahmanRizwanur Rahman
Rizwanur Rahman was a 30-year-old computer graphics trainer who was possibly murdered after marrying Priyanka Todi, daughter of industrialist Ashok Todi...
, after his daughter Priyanka had secretly married the computer graphics teacher. The incident was initially treated as a suicide, with the police refusing to even file a First Information Report
First Information Report
A First Information Report or FIR is a written document prepared by the police in India, Pakistan and Japan when they receive information about the commission of a cognizable offence. It is a report of information that reaches the police first in point of time and that is why it is called the First...
of murder. It turned out that the police had pressurized Rahman excessively, possibly acting under pressure from the wealthy Todi. Several police officers including the commissioner were transferred. Eventually, Todi and four police officers were charge-sheeted for abetting suicide. However, there was intense media attention on the case, where a wealthy person was seen to be getting away with murder, simply because he did not feel that the commoner Rizwanur was a worthy husband for his daughter.
In May 2010 the Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
High Court opined that the case be considered as a murder, and Ashok Todi was the prime suspect.
Family honour and murder
The case has been compared to other murders where a wealthy family felt that a match was unsuitable, as in the Nitish KataraNitish Katara
Nitish Katara was a 24-year-old Indian business executive in Delhi, who was murdered in the early hours of February 17, 2002, by Vikas Yadav the son of influential criminal-politician D. P. Yadav...
case, where the ganglord family of Bharti Yadav
Bharti Yadav
Bharti Yadav is the daughter of the politicians D. P. Yadav and Umlesh Yadav. In 2002, she fell in love with Nitish Katara, a 24-year-old business executive who was a student in her college. However, her brother and her cousin were against this relationship...
disapproved of him. After Bharti's brother Vikas Yadav
Vikas Yadav
Vikas Yadav in Hindi विकास यादव is the son of the noted criminal-politician from Uttar Pradesh, D.P. Yadav, and his politician wife Umlesh Yadav, both of whom are currently member of the state legislative assembly in Uttar Pradesh...
murdered Nitish, the lower court initially let him off. It was only after intense media pressure that the wealthy scion was sentenced. The court observed at the time that the murder had been committed because a love marriage would not be acceptable to the family:
- It isn't digested by elder males of the family ... that a female exercises her right to choose a male partner of her own choice which often leads to shocking and macabre consequences.
This type of murder has been termed "violence against relationships of choice.".
Effect on Lux Cozi
Ashok Todi's image plummeted after Rizwanur's killing, and in Feb 2010, the IPLIndian Premier League
The Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner...
cricket team Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata Knight Riders is the franchise representing Kolkata in the Indian Premier League, a Twenty20 cricket tournament. Sourav Ganguly led the team in IPL1 and IPL3, Brendon McCullum in IPL2, and Gautam Gambhir in IPL4...
and its film-star owner Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
cancelled a publicity contract with Lux Cozi after widespread anger was directed at them. There is a petition online for boycotting Lux hosiery products. However, the company appears to have been doing well, with a strong nationwide rural marketing network.