RTI Activist Murdered in Kolhapur Another RTI activist murdered in Kolhapur. He had filed RTI against local corporators and the local handloom coops.
Related Articles
Another Attempt to Dilute RTI
RTI a Boon But Needs More Teeth
Attempt to Scuttle RTI
RTI Activist Murdered in Maharashtra
MCD OfficialsThreaten RTI Seeker with Death

RTI activist Dattatray Patil (47), who was murdered here on Saturday, took on every powerful lobby in this powerloom town in pros­perous western Maharashtra.

After 10 Congress corporators crossed over to the BJP last year, he initiated an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) probe into the sus­pected horse-trading, which meant trouble for everyone of the 57 corporators. "Except for one corporator, who is a neighbour, no other corporator called on us after his death," said Dattatray's elder brother Kshamananda.

Dattatray had also filed cas­es against co-operative handloom societies, which were meant for the disadvantaged but controlled by the rich from the upper castes. There are nearly 350 such soci­eties
in Ichalkaranji. "Any of these lobbies could be behind his murder," alleged Kshamananda. As if this was not enough, Dat­tatray had also filed a case against the former superintend­ent of police for constructing a new police station building at Jaisinghpur, partly with 'dona­tions' from the police.

Dattatray stayed in a ram­shackle bungalow at Gandhi Camp with the families of his other two siblings. While the eld­er brother managed the joint fam­ily's jaggery business, Dattatray looked after the 27 acres of farm­land the family owned. He was on his routine evening visit on his motorcycle to a field, six km away at
Shivnakwadi, when he was waylaid and stabbed to death around 6 pm. A farm hand called up Dattatray's family on notic­ing his body in the fields.

According to Dattatray's fam­ily, he had received a threaten­ing call on his cell phone at 3.45 pm on Saturday However, the po­lice say that the only evidence for that is that he raised his voice while answering the call. The po­lice are trying to trace this call.

Based on 'information received from sources', the Kurundwad po­lice on Monday arrested two local youths in connection with the murder. According to investigat­ing officer API P D Gaikwad, the suspects, Rahul Kumar Dhole (19) and Shrinivas Morka (20), both school drop-outs and residents of a slum behind Boudh Samaj Mandir, Shahpur in Ichalkaranji, have been remanded to seven days' police custody. The two youngsters have no previous police record. He added that they were looking for four more suspects.

Posted by collective at May 27, 2010 04:20 PM