By Prof Narendra Nayak
President, Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations
Mangaluru, Mar 25: The brutal murder of Vinayak Baliga who was an RTI activist and a contractor by profession has shocked the people of Mangaluru. The murder, carried out by what appears to be a professional gang has left his aged parents and unmarried sisters distraught and helpless. He had made many enemies as those who stand for truth and probity in public life do. He had filed many cases against many powerful vested interests, lobbies and religious groups.
A bachelor and a devotee of Venkatramana, Baliga would start his daily routine with a visit to the temple. Probably what he saw on the road on his way back and forth must have raised his hackles because he had seen gross violations of laws. For example there is a school complex in the area which would cause traffic blockages and the road in the residential locality was made one way at the behest of the owners of this educational complex. Again, on the same road, is a huge complex of hundreds of flats which should install its own sewage treatment plant but has not done so to date and a host of such.
Vinayak Baliga
Baliga's father
This apartment complex has sewage leaking from its premises into the storm water drains as the photo taken on March 24 at around 11 am shows. Baliga had filed a number of complaints, one of which had come up for hearing on March 24 at the office of the corporation commissioner. He had filed a number of complaints and cases against the irregularities at the Venkatramana temple in Car Street. In fact he had made a number of allegations about very serious irregularities in the financial affairs. He had taken on some important members of this very affluent, influential community. In fact two of his close friends who were co-litigants have refused to speak out about the issue as it looks like they too are in fear of their lives. The fear of the opponents of this activist is so much that people who know the facts have refused to go on record to say what they know about his cases.
It is also mentioned that he had filed a public interest litigation against the Mangaluru City Corporation over the violation of building laws by a number of influential builders and others. It was also said that the high court had directed the City Corporation to investigate and file a report within 30 days. We are waiting for the confirmation of that. One of his friends had informed me that though Baliga had given a copy of that judgment to the press, none of them had the courage to publish it or looks like this lobby has suppressed it.
Though Vinayaka Baliga was a fearless activist the members of his family were not so. His father who is 85 years old is now bedridden. As it is, he was not keeping in good health and this untimely death of his son has totally shaken him up. Vinayak’s mother is frail and is hardly in any condition to look after her husband. All his files have been taken by the police and the family members, whom he never informed about his activities as it would cause them to worry, do not know much about what he was doing. His family members still rue the day when he was unable to take his father to the hospital because of the blockage of the main road by the vehicles of the nearby school and the police made him a diversion which was again blocked due to marriage at a nearby marriage hall. Seeing that, he had complained to the commissioner of police about making a one-way road at a residential locality at the behest of the owner of a education complex on it. He had probed further into the affair and found that part of it was an unauthorized construction. It has been experienced by many that even the road in front of the school which is public property is treated like the private property of the school with their watchman regulating the parking there!
Perhaps such things and many more in this city which is the fiefdom of the moral police, the gangsters of various communal outfits, the dals and senas would have rankled this activist like they do for many of us. It was Baliga today, who next is the question before all of us who dare to raise out voices against the injustices of the system.
Concerned citizen writes to chief minister
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru
Meanwhile, Melroy Fernandes, a resident of the city, who like many others was shocked at the murder of Vinayak Baliga, has written a letter to chief minister Siddaramaiah expressing his concerns as a citizen.
The letter, which is also addressed to home minister Dr G Parameshwara states: "As a citizen I wish to express my concern and worry over the killing of RTI activist Shri Vinayak Baliga in Mangaluru. The news reports claim that Vinayak Baliga was a well known RTI activist who had been filing RTI applications for the past 10 years and that he had been helping the government trace electricity thefts, helping poor families who were deprived of their rights and had complained to the Karnataka high court about misappropriation of funds in a temple."
In his letter, Melroy has urged the following:
"1. The information sought, under RTI Act, by Vinayak Baliga from various authorities in Mangaluru (example, Mescom or DC office or zilla panchayat or taluk panchayat or police or Mangaluru City Corporation etc) should be uploaded on the Karnataka State Information Commission website for public scrutiny.
"2. The Karnataka Information Commission should create a separate tab on their website, wherein all RTI applications and information provided or pending should be uploaded for each and every RTI activist who has been attacked or threatened. This will send a clear message to all criminal minded persons that attacking a RTI activist will only lead to more public exposure.
"3. The Whistle Blowers Protection Act received the President’s assent in May 2014. However, the law is yet to become operational as the rules for the Whistle Blowers Protection Act have not been promulgated so far. We desire the Karnataka government to operationalize the Whistleblowers Protection Act. And, to frame rules in a transparent, consultative and participatory manner so as to establish a comprehensive framework for protecting those who expose corruption and wrongdoing across the country.
"4. We urge the Karnataka government to issue a GR along the lines of the draft resolution passed by the Central Information Commission on September 13, 2011 so as to protect RTI activists from attacks. The draft resolution states: "The Commission underlines the need to take urgent steps by the respective Governments for the safety and protection of the RTI users. The Commission strongly believes that it is the duty and responsibility of the respective governments to safeguard the life and liberty of the RTI users for which purpose they should invoke the relevant penal provisions for the prevention and detection of such heinous crimes. This Commission, therefore, resolves that if it receives a complaint regarding assault or murder of an information seeker, it will examine the pending RTI applications of the victim and order the concerned department(s) to publish the requested information suo motu on their website as per the provisons of law. This Commission also resolves that it will take proactive steps in ascertaining the status of investigations/prosecutions of the cases involving information seekers and endeavor to have these processes expedited."
In a communication to daijiworld, Melroy said, "It is only when people realise that they have to fight for their own rights to protect themselves that systemic change will be brought about. Until then, the very same people will continue to gossip and crib on their arm chairs and then gratefully lap up the 2-bits thrown at them by corrupt politicians instead of demanding their rightful share in the pie." He also said that by writing to the CM, he was doing his bit as a concerned citizen to protect his liberty.