RTI activists allege attack on them planned by MLA's kin

Deccan Herald: Panaji: Wednesday, March 13, 2013.

Goa RTI Forum today claimed in a police complaint that the nephew of a BJP MLA was among those who masterminded the alleged attack on RTI activists by a mob ten days back.

"From the photographs put up on various Goa Forums, on the social networking site as also from reports in the local newspapers, the agitation seemed to be led by the nephew of sitting MLA Subhash Faldesai, who belongs to the ruling BJP party," the Goa RTI Forum said in its complaint to the Margao police lodged today.

The photograph of the nephew, not named in the complaint, hackling an RTI activist, has also been attached along with the complaint.

Several hundred people, reportedly affected with the closure of mining activity in the state, had tried to disrupt the meeting called by the Goa RTI Forum in Margao town on March 2 to discuss the Justice M B Shah report, which had exposed illegal mining.

The Forum's secretary Shrikant Barve claimed that the police had knowledge about a bus load of people being brought to Margao to disrupt the meeting.

"Police must investigate how many such buses came, who owns them, who hired them and who paid them. There were other vehicles, which brought the people. We expect the police to find out their details," Barve said.

He alleged the mob had gathered in large numbers with an intention to cause injury and trouble and assault the RTI Forum members.

When asked to comment over the issue, Faldesai said, "I have no nephew. I don't know how they are relating any person to me. Let them identify him. This proves that they (activists) have a very petty mentality. They should have filed a complaint the very next day (after the attack) and not waited for 10 days."