RTI activist beaten to death for making queries


Aligarh, Nov 29 (IANS): A RTI activist was beaten to death allegedly by eight men, including the village head and his son, in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh district for questioning the quality of public projects underway in the area.

The victim's brother was also critically injured in the incident.

The victim's family told police that Devjeet Singh, 32, a resident of Gorai village under Iglas police circle, was killed while he and his brother were tending to their farm.

Deputy Superintendent of Police, Raghvendra Singh said, "An FIR has been registered against pradhan Devendra Singh, his son Kartik and six others named in the complaint under various sections of the IPC, including 302 (murder), 147 (rioting), 506 (criminal intimidation), among others. The accused men are absconding. Efforts are being made to arrest them."

Devjeet's father Mahendra Singh said, "My son had filed an RTI query two months ago seeking information on the quality of development work done by the village pradhan. He had also filed multiple complaints with various authorities alleging substandard material being used for construction in the village and sought appropriate action. Since then, we have been getting death threats. We approached the police last month to file a complaint against Devendra but no action was taken."

The victim's uncle Ramvir Singh said, "The village pradhan and his relatives brutally attacked my nephews with lathis and sharp-edged weapons. When we heard about the assault, we rushed to the spot. Devjeet had grievous injuries on his head and he died on his way to Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College. His younger brother Surendra is in critical condition and undergoing treatment at the same hospital."

According to locals, Devjeet used to run a computer centre in the village besides supporting his father in agricultural activities. He is survived by his 28-year-old wife and two minor children.

 

  

Top Stories

Comment on this article


Leave a Comment

Title: RTI activist beaten to death for making queries



You have 2000 characters left.

Disclaimer:

Please write your correct name and email address. Kindly do not post any personal, abusive, defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent, discriminatory or unlawful or similar comments. Daijiworld.com will not be responsible for any defamatory message posted under this article.

Please note that sending false messages to insult, defame, intimidate, mislead or deceive people or to intentionally cause public disorder is punishable under law. It is obligatory on Daijiworld to provide the IP address and other details of senders of such comments, to the authority concerned upon request.

Hence, sending offensive comments using daijiworld will be purely at your own risk, and in no way will Daijiworld.com be held responsible.