Death stalks RTI activists,many had a close shave

His application was based on an RTI reply,which said that the trees had been felled illegally and there was no account of the money available on the proceeds generated through the sale of trees.

Rana was taken to the nearby Sardarpura crematorium where he was severely beaten up and alcohol poured into his mouth. He was then taken to Kharol village but was dumped midway after his assailants took him for dead.

They also took away the cash in his pocket and Rana had to kept in V S Hospital for 12 days.

Rana told The Indian Express from his village that after his discharge from the hospital,he lodged an FIR and seven persons,including Natubhai Bhojani,the father-in-law of sarpanch Gitaben,and the talati were arrested on charges of abduction and attempt to murder. But they were released on bail after seven days. The case is still on and the accused are still threatening to kill him,Rana said.

Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahal (MAGP) president and Janpath secretary Harinesh Pandya,whose organisation has been assisting activists in filing RTI applications,said activist Bipinbhai Parmar of Kharvar village in Surendranagar district was attacked after he sought information on certain actions of the village sarpanch.

Bilal Sheikh of Bileshwar village in Palsana taluka of Surat district was badly beaten up for seeking information on illegal mining in the village panchayat land.

Pandya said the illegal mining of limestone,which is used in the cement industry,is a burning issue. Jethava had used RTI query to get these details and had in the process made many enemies,he added.

Pandya condemned the killing of Jethava and demanded protection for RTI activists and other whistleblowers.

He also called for the immediate appointment of Lokayukta with powers to take action against

politicians.

He said the immediate arrest of the accused in Jethava’s killing will restore the confidence of RTI activists,adding if the culprits are allowed to go free,it will be a big setback.

Pandya said Jethava is the fifth activist/whistleblower to be killed in India since the law was enacted in 2005. They include Lalit Mehta,who exposed corruption in NREGA projects in Bihar,Satish Shetty for exposing land-grabbing in Pune and Datta Patil who exposed the land scam in Mumbai.

Nikhil Dey of Mazdoor Kisan Sanghatan and the National Campaign for Peoples Right to Information,said the government,media,and activists should take Jethava’s murder issue collectively to a logical conclusion. “You cannot have attacks and people raising public issues simultaneously. The idea of killing is to silence the voice of the people.”

FR. Cedric Prakash of NGO Prashant,Neeta Hardikar of Janpath,Arvind Kejriwal of Parivartan from Delhi,Arun Roy from Rajasthan and Pankti Jog of MAGP,too condemned the killing.