Cost of filing RTI with police in Gujarat: Activist-journalist Shailesh Patel "murdered" by bootleggers

Shailesh Patel

By Pankti Jog*
In Mahatma Gandhi’s dry state, even asking for information about illegal liquor trading has proved to be life snatching. Shailesh Kantilal Patel of Surendranagar district of Gujarat filed a right to information (RTI) application on June 15, 2015 at 12 noon at the district superintendent of police’s (DSP’s) office of Surendrangar district. He was murdered on the same day late night.
Shailesh Patel’s RTI application, typed on Rs 20 stamp paper, had only one query – details of cases registered since 2011 against one Rafik Yunus alias Haji who is allegedly into liquor trading, and also about what action police have taken regarding the same.
Contends his sister Praveena Patel, who is police constable and works with Mahila Police Station in Surendrangar town, police informed about the RTI application to local crime branch (LCB), whose cops approached Shailesh Patel to make a settlement. But when Shailesh Patel refused, “he was murdered”.
The in-charge public information officer (PIO) in the DSP office, on being approached, said, he accepted the RTI request and “immediately transferred to the city police station, to which the matter belongs”. On contacting police inspector (PI) of the city police station, who is also the PIO, he said he received Shailesh Patel’s RTI application only on June 18, thee days after the murder.
According to the police, Shailesh Patel had had lent Rs 50,000 to the accused, and this triggered the murder. However, his 80-year-old mother denies this. “My son asked for information, and that is why the bootleggers murdered him”, she said. Shailesh Patel worked as reporter with the local “Tankar” weekly.

Shailesh Patel's press i-card

Illegal liquor distilleries and trading is a nuisance in Surendrangar, local people complained. “Several complaints have been filed so far, and even women took out rallies against bootlegging. But when police has strong nexus with bootleggers, how can they take action against them? We feel here LCB and police both are in partnership with illegal liquor distilleries owners”, said a shop keeper.
Coincidently, around 80 women reached Gandhinagar to meet chief minister Anandiben Patel to submit a memorandum on June 16, in which one of the major issues highlighted was illegal liquor trade in Surendrangar. The memorandum said, illegal liquor has led to sharp rise in violence against women. But the chief minister refused to meet them, and they were sent to the secretary, food and civil supplies department.
What next?
“We do not hope that police will do proper investigation. We will represent to higher authorities regarding police role in Shailesh Patel’s murder”, his family members said. His brother also plans to file a complaint under section 18 of RTI Act, demanding for proper inquiry, and information to be given.
The Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel (MAGP), Gujarat’s apex body of RTI activists, has decided to submit a report to the State information Commission, requesting it to order for the disclosure of the information on the website, as this information has proved to be too sensitive. MAGP will also be appealing to the RTI community across the state and the nation to file RTI and seek information which Shailesh Patel had wanted from the police.
Till date six persons seeking information through RTI have lost their lives in Gujarat. The first one to die was Amit Jethva, who sought information regarding action taken against illegal mining around the Gir forest, the only abode of Asiatic lion. In none of the cases accused has been punished. Then, there been around 40 incidents of severe attacks on RTI activists, as per the information received by MAGP on its helpline, 9924085000.
The Whistleblowers’ Protection Act, which was passed one-and-a-half-years ago, has still not implemented by the Government of India. The Gujarat government has not framed any mechanism for protecting the whistleblower, either.
---
*Senior activist, MAGP. This report was prepared following the visit of MAGP team to Surendrangar and meeting with victims’ family members, and visit to the DSP office and the city police station on June 19, 2015

Comments

Unknown said…

Government wakes up when TV channels pester them. Those who know the contacts should send this news to Times Now or Aaj Tak channels.

June 23, 2015

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Two more "aadhaar-linked" Jharkhand deaths: 17 die of starvation since Sept 2017

Kaleshwar's sons Santosh and Mantosh Counterview Desk A fact-finding team of the Right to Feed Campaign, pointing towards the death of two more persons due to starvation in Jharkhand, has said that this has happened because of the absence of aadhaar, leading to “persistent lack of food at home and unavailability of any means of earning.” It has disputed the state government claims that these deaths are due to reasons other than starvation, adding, the authorities have “done nothing” to reduce the alarming state of food insecurity in the state.

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

What's behind Donald Trump's 'narco-state' accusation against Venezuela

By Manolo De Los Santos The US government has revived its campaign to label Venezuela a "narco-state", accusing its top leadership of drug trafficking and slapping hefty bounties on their heads for capture. This campaign, which only momentarily took a backseat, is a strategic fabrication, not a factual assessment. This accusation, particularly amplified under the Trump Administration, is a calculated smokescreen to justify a long-standing agenda: the overthrow of the Venezuelan government and the seizure of its vast oil and mineral resources. A closer examination of the facts reveals a country that has actively fought drug trafficking on its own terms and a US government with a clear and consistent history of destabilizing independent countries in Latin America.

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

1857 War of Independence... when Hindu-Muslim separatism, hatred wasn't an issue

"The Sepoy Revolt at Meerut", Illustrated London News, 1857 By Shamsul Islam* Large sections of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs unitedly challenged the greatest imperialist power, Britain, during India’s First War of Independence which began on May 10, 1857; the day being Sunday. This extraordinary unity, naturally, unnerved the firangees and made them realize that if their rule was to continue in India, it could happen only when Hindus and Muslims, the largest two religious communities were divided on communal lines.

Ground reality: Israel would a remain Jewish state, attempt to overthrow it will be futile

By NS Venkataraman* Now that truce has been arrived at between Israel and Hamas for a period of four days and with release of a few hostages from both sides, there is hope that truce would be further extended and the intensity of war would become significantly less. This likely “truce period” gives an opportunity for the sworn supporters and bitter opponents of Hamas as well as Israel and the observers around the world to introspect on the happenings and whether this war could have been avoided. There is prolonged debate for the last several decades as to whom the present region that has been provided to Jews after the World War II belong. View of some people is that Jews have been occupants earlier and therefore, the region should belong to Jews only. However, Christians and those belonging to Islam have also lived in this regions for long period. While Christians make no claim, the dispute is between Jews and those who claim themselves to be Palestinians. In any case...

Fate of Yamuna floodplain still hangs in "balance" despite National Green Tribunal rap on Sri Sri event

By Ashok Shrimali* While the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday reportedly pulled up the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for granting permission to hold spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's World Culture Festival on the banks of Yamuna, the chief petitioners against the high-profile event Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan has declared, the “fate of the floodplain still hangs in balance.”

Counterview

Search This Blog