Demanding information using the Right to Information Act, 2005 has cost some brave whistleblowers their lives. We remember the sacrifice they made to fight corruption and uncover the truth.
Satish Shetty (Maharashtra)
A relentless whistleblower, Satish Shetty, 38, exposed several land scams in Maharashtra, specifically in the Talegoan, Lonavala and the Pimpri-Chinchwad belt between Mumbai and Pune. Using the RTI Act, Shetty had revealed irregularities such as the construction of an unauthorized bungalow for an elected office-bearer on railway land. The bungalow had to be demolished after the exposé?. He also exposed a black market in kerosene sale and ration cards. In January 2013, Shetty was out on a morning walk near his home in Talegaon when he was attacked by some people with swords. He was stabbed in the head, hands, temple and neck. The assailants were never traced. Shetty’s murder is currently being probed by the CBI.
Amit Jethwa (Gujarat)
Gujarat-based environmentalist and social worker Amit Jethwa, 35, used the RTI Act to prevent mining around the Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary to ensure the safety of the lions and other wildlife. Jethwa had filed several PILs linking an MP from Junagadh to illegal mining in the sanctuary. His family alleged he had been receiving threats for a long time from this MP. Jethwa’s petitions led to the appointment of two more information commissioners in the Gujarat Information Commission. He was also instrumental in ensuring that the position of the Lokayukta in Gujarat, which had remained vacant for almost seven years, was filled. His interventions helped expose the nexus between politicians, bureaucrats and mafias. Jethwa was shot dead in broad daylight near the Gujarat High Court in July 2010.
Sola Ranga Rao (Andhra Pradesh)
In April 2010, Sola Ranga Rao, 30, an activist from Sitaram village in Andhra Pradesh’s Krishna district was found murdered near his home. It is believed he was targeted because he had filed various RTI applications with the district office relating to the funding of the village drainage system. Rao had sought information from the Mandal Parishad Development Office (MPDO) on the funds sanctioned and those utilized. His family alleged that he was murdered by those involved in siphoning off the funds allocated for the drainage system. Even the state information commission suspected the involvement of the Public Information Officer of the MPDO in Rao’s death.
Dattatreya Patil (Maharashtra)
Farmer and anti-corruption crusader Dattatreya Patil was beaten up and then slashed with swords in May 2010. Patil had filed an RTI against horse trading in the Kolhapur municipal election and had also lodged several complaints against illegal construction by a prominent builder. Among the cases he had exposed were the bogus registration of 11 co-operative handloom societies in Ichalkaranji in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district, and a corruption racket that led to the dismissal of senior police officials. The Anti-Corruption Bureau had initiated proceedings against a number of local corporators on the basis of Patil’s complaint.
Shashidhar Mishra (Bihar)
RTI activist Shashidhar Mishra was shot dead by unidentified men on motorcycles near his house in a village near Begusarai, Bihar, in February 2010. A street vendor, Mishra worked relentlessly to expose corruption at the panchayat and block levels and was popularly known as Khabri Lal (news man). By the time he was killed, he had filed more than a thousand RTI applications, most of them concerning issues affecting his village. The police registered his murder as a fallout of past enmity. TheNational RTI Forum has honoured his martyrdom by instituting the Shashidhar Mishra Award for Gallantry.
Vishram Laxman Dodiya (Gujarat)
Vishram Laxman Dodiya, 55, a resident of Surat, Gujarat, was murdered for refusing to withdraw his RTI application against a power distribution company that sought information about illegal connections, rampant and dubious billing. Dodiya’s family alleged that the distribution company officials had tried to persuade him to withdraw it but Dodiya had refused. Family members say that Dodiya was called for a meeting with the company officials in February 2010. His body was found a few hours later. Eyewitnesses stated that four young men had attacked him with swords.
Ramdas Patil Ghadegaonkar (Maharashtra)
A milkman by profession, Ramdas Patil Ghadegaonkar, 35, a resident of Maharashtra’s Nanded district, had used the RTI Act to expose the black marketing of food grains under the Public Distribution System, and how sand mafia contractors had bribed officials to freeload on sand which belonged to the state. The mafia was also flouting contract norms by using machines to dredge the sand when they had a deal with the state to provide employment to the poor at these sites. Ghadegaonkar’s RTI put a stop to this and some contractors were penalized with a sum of Rs 15 lakh. On the basis of his complaint, the district authority stopped the dredging. On August 27, 2010, Ghadegaonkar’s body was found under a bridge. Fellow RTI activists say he was killed in retaliation for blocking the dredging.