Times of India: Noida: Friday, May 09, 2014.
A day after
TOI reported that UP police allegedly mounted pressure on RTI activist Anoop
Singh to force him to withdraw his complaint against contractors, NGOs and
individuals working to protect the rights of whistleblowers approached Singh to
extend their full support.
Singh had
filed several RTI applications related to infrastructure projects, earning him
the tag of a whistleblower. In December last year, he was abducted by armed men
and kept captive for four days, during which he was physically tortured.
"Instead
of helping, the cops mounted pressure on me to withdraw the complaint and
harassed my family as well as friends," Singh alleged.
Singh said he
received several calls from NGOs and social activists who wished to help him in
his fight against corruption. Human Rights Law Network, a non-profit legal
centre working for human rights offered support by providing legal aid, he
said.
Noted lawyer
Gaurav Kumar Bansal also approached Anoop to offer him legal support saying
there is a need to provide protection to whistleblowers in the country. "I
had been following the case and on Thursday read the TOI report on Singh. After
reading the case details, I approached him for legal support to further his
fight against corruption," Bansal said.
Police,
however, remained silent and nobody from the administration has come forward to
express their support for Singh so far.
"This
reflects the administration's apathy towards activists who have been fighting
against corruption in our country," said Singh who now plans to write to
chief minister Akhilesh Yadav to highlight the "poor law and order
situation in the state."
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