Condemning the alleged murder of RTI activist Vinayak Shirsath in Pune, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) has urged the State government to ensure timely and effective probe to prosecute those involved.
The Pune Police found the 32-year-old activist’s decomposed body on Tuesday. The CHRI, in a statement, said according to those familiar with his work, Mr. Shirsath had filed several applications seeking details of alleged illegal construction in Pune.
“His family had approached the police with a complaint after he went missing a few days ago. Suspecting that Vinayak might have been murdered, the Bharathi Vidyapeeth Police have sent the body for a post mortem examination,” it said.
“According to CHRI’s online documentation of attacks on RTI users across India, this is the 16th case of murder reported from Maharashtra -- the highest number anywhere in the country. With Vinayak’s alleged murder, and at least 35 cases of assault and 41 cases of harassment reported in the media, Maharashtra tops the list of States with the most number of attacks on RTI users (92) since the RTI Act came into force in 2005,” said the organisation.
“Last November, Meghalaya was stunned by attacks against activists Agnes Kharshiing and Amita Sangma who were brutally attacked due to their work against illegal coal mining and transportation in the State,” it said, stating long-term measures were needed to prevent such incidents.
The CHRI said the Centre had not yet enforced the Whistleblowers Protection Act enacted by the Parliament in February 2014, and instead, regressive amendments to the law were pending in the Rajya Sabha. “We call for the withdrawal of these amendment proposals,” said Sanjoy Hazarika, International Director, CHRI.
