Indian Express: New Delhi:
Wednesday, April 16, 2014.
The National
Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sought a report from the Maharashtra
government on the death of RTI activist Vilas Baravkar, who had alleged
harassment by officials.
Baravkar (52)
allegedly committed suicide in his house.
In a suicide note, he accused 52 people, several of them relatives,
of arassing him. The note names 27 police personnel, including
four IPS officers.
The NHRC,
taking suo motu cognizance issued notices to Maharashtra Chief Secretary and
Director General of Police to file a report within two weeks. “If true, it
raises a serious issue of violation of human rights of an RTI activist,” an
NHRC press release stated.
“Baravkar
left a suicide note alleging that several prominent politicians and top serving
and retired officers of Indian Police Service in Maharashtra were harassing
him,” the NHRC added.
The police
said that Baravkar had filed several RTI applications regarding local issues
related to land and co-operative banks in Chakan as well as in Rajgurunagar and
had been given police protection for the past four years due to threat
perception.
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