Bhubaneswar: The state Lokayukta has served notice on the principal secretary to the state home department and director general of police seeking report on the alleged murder of RTI activist, Ranjan Kumar Das, in Kendrapara district. The body of the activist was found on the roadside of Berhuan village under Marshaghai police limits in Kendrapara district on the night of February 1. The officials have been asked to submit their report within four weeks.
The Lokayukta also sought report in this regard from the Superintendent of Kendrapara district police within the specified period.
While hearing the case, the Lokayukta mentioned, “The issue raised in the complaint is very serious in nature and if not attended on priority basis, it will demoralise the people of state and discourage them from registering complaints against corrupt public servants.”
Enquiry report in this regard has been sought by both the Odisha Human Rights Commission and national Human Rights Commission recently.
Similarly, 18 former bureaucrats and eminent personalities from the across the country had sought intervention of Chief Minsaiter Naveen Patnaik in a letter few days back. Das had reportedly taken to RTI activism about eight years ago.
He allegedly lodged a case before Odisha Lokayukta alleging encroachment of 1,100 acres of government land by a resident of Mahakalpada for shrimp farming. He had also filed RTI applications seeking details of expenditure on roads built by the rural development department, quality of dry food for babies in Anganwadi Centres as well as irregularities in government schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Rozgar Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awaas Yojana.
Interestingly, many rights activists of the state also raised questions over the apathy of the Kendrapara police to arrest or even detain any person for interrogation in this regard. The activists alleged that Kendrapara police is complicit in the murder of the activist as it is now trying to turn the gruesome murder into a road mishap case.