By IANS,
New Delhi: State governments should “promptly” investigate victimization of RTI activists and take action against their attackers, the Rajya Sabha was informed Thursday.
Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office V. Narayanasamy said in a written statement that at least nine RTI activists had been allegedly killed so far in the country.
“There have been some reports in the media that some persons have been assaulted in the last two years allegedly due to their role as RTI activists,” the minister said.
He identified nine such victims: Ramdas Pati Ghadegasonkar, Babbu Singh, Amit Jethwa, Datta Patil, Vittal Gite, Sola Ranga Rao, Arun Sawant, Shehla Masood and Nadim Sayeed.
Narayanasamy said there was no need for a separate policy to deal with such cases as existing laws were considered “adequate to provide for safety and security to all citizens including RTI activists”.
He said the central government had drawn the attention of states to media reports about “the victimization of people who use RTI to expose corruption and irregularities in administration.
“States have been requested that if any such instances comes to the notice, it should be properly inquired into and action taken against the offenders.”