Mumbai
Mirror: Mumbai: Friday, 04 September 2015.
Arun Sawant
had approached police for protection, but did not get it; Human Rights
Commission finds cop claim of activist being 'a troublemaker' unfounded.
Five years
after an attack left him paralysed, RTI activist Arun Sawant will be
compensated Rs 10 lakh by the state government, as per an order by the State
Human Rights Commission (SHRC). An elated Sawant told Mirror on Thursday that
the order not only validates his struggle, but will also help others in future.
Sawant, 64,
was shot at by two unidentified motorcycle riders in Badlapur on February 26,
2010, while he was on his way to file an RTI application at the Badlapur
Municipal Corporation. He was hit by a bullet on the lower part of his back,
which led to severe injuries to his spinal cord and rendered him bedridden and
paralytic in both feet.
A fortnight
before the attack, fearing danger to his life Sawant had approached the Thane
police for protection. According to his complaint to SHRC, he had written to
the police on February 9 citing threats to his life but was not provided any
protection, leading to the attack.
When SHRC
summoned the police, they tried to wriggle out of the situation by dubbing the
activist a 'troublemaker'.
During the
hearing before the commission under chairperson, Justice SR Bannurmath, and
member, Bhagwant More, the Thane police claimed that Sawant was not a social
worker but was misusing provisions of the RTI Act and blackmailing public
servants. The police also claimed that while Sawant was asked several times to
give it in writing that he needed police protection, he had not done so.
The
commission, however, found the claims were unfounded and that there was no
proof, including the lack of any records through station diary entries
regarding Sawant being approached after a request was sent by him for
protection.
"In the
absence of any documentary evidence, the commission prima facie finds that the
entire story of alleged enquiry or approach to the complainant on various dates
is a selfserving, afterthought story put by the police in its defence,"
the order said.
The
commission's order also criticised the police. "This apathy and
insensitivity of the concerned police probably appears to be out of prejudice
towards the complainant's RTI activities... whenever a citizen seeks police
protection under reasonable circumstances/prima facie grounds, the concerned
police are expected to act swiftly and not take their own sweet time," the
order said.
Ruling that
the negligence in not providing timely protection led to the violation of human
rights, apart from compensation, the commission has also made recommendations.
It stated that the Home Department should issue directions to senior police
officials to take serious note of requests made for police protection with
expeditious action.
Sawant told
Mirror that the order not only validated his struggle but is also significant,
as it will help others seeking police protection. "I had approached the
commission seeking justice and am happy with the order. The recommendations to
the police to give police protection to persons fighting for just causes in our
democracy will encourage many," Sawant said.
Sawant
further said that after the death of Pune RTI activist Satish Shetty, his
apprehension of being attacked had grown. He said that things continue to
remain the same for those who speak against people in powerful positions.
Recently,
activists have expressed a similar fear after receiving death threats with many
criticising the government for not adequately ensuring their protection. In
March, human rights activist and advocate Asim Sarode was asked to pay Rs 75000
for police security after he complained of having received death threats.
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