Journalism of Courage
Real estate professional Arvind Kaushal,40,who had filed an RTI application on a construction work in Kharadi,was allegedly assaulted by two unidentified men on Friday evening. He has alleged in his police complaint that he was attacked at the behest of a person linked to the group that was doing the construction work,which was stopped by the Pune Municipal Corporation after his RTI application.
Kaushal,who suffered injuries on his back,head and nose in the attack,has been admitted to a private hospital in Yerawada. The complaint was registered with Yerawada police. The incident took place when Kaushal along with his brother Major (retd) Lalit Kaushal stepped out of his Kalyaninagar office.
Kaushal had recently filed another RTI query on alleged irregularities in construction of some residential buildings. The PMC was in the process of issuing a show cause notice to Goel-Raisoni Associates, the brother added.
Sub inspector Suresh Gholap of Yerawada police said,Kaushal says the attack was in retaliation to his RTI query. We have registered a complaint against two unidentified persons under Section 326 of the Indian Penal Code for voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means. We have also detained a person for inquiry.
Anuj Goel of Goel-Raisoni Associates said,There is absolutely no element of truth in the allegation. The person he is talking about does not work with our company now. If he thinks that person is linked to us,why hasnt he named us in the complaint? The work has been stopped not because of RTI query. We are reviving the plan.
