DNA: Mumbai: Saturday, September 20, 2014.
Premkant Jha,
a whistleblower and RTI activist, was shot dead in broad daylight on 24
February, 2012, while he was returning to his Phoolpada residence in Virar
(East). On August 24, the Bombay high court had slammed the state's Criminal
Investigation Department (CID) for dragging its feet in the case, and
transferred it to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Despite this, not
a single arrest has been made, with the family alleging political influence.
Jha's son
Mihir had pleaded in front of the high court to transfer the case to the CBI as
the CID had done nothing in the case. However, the family now says that the CBI
too is doing the same.
"My
father had been working to expose several scams in the local civic body and had
taken a firm stand against mafias who had political connections. He was killed
in order to stop him from opening a can of worms, said Bipin, Jha's other son.
"We have
been fighting for justice for the past 2 years. We firmly believe that the
state CID did not take any action due to political connections. The CBI did not
arrest the accused due to the same reason," he added.
"When
the high court ordered a CBI inquiry it also slammed the CID for lacunae in its
investigation. Despite us informing the officials about several accused, none
of them were interrogated, nor arrested. We want justice and will not rest
quietly until the case is solved and my husband's assailants are
arrested," said Anita, the activist's wife.