3 months on, RTI activist awaits info on doctor’s appointment

Times of India: Bhopal: Tuesday, 05 January 2016.

Three months after he sought information through RTI application regarding illegal appointment of a Bhopal-based doctor, the state government informed Vyapam whistleblower and RTI activist about its "inability" to do so.

Ashish Chaturvedi, Gwalior-based RTI activist, had sought information related to alleged illegal appointment of Dr I D Chourasia, posted in Bhopal's Gandhi Medical College (GMC) as an assistant professor.

On December 17, Ashish received a letter from an additional secretary of the state secretariat. It said, "The case has been presented at the highest level and we are unable to supply the information. As soon as the file related to the case is available, information will be sent."

More than 100 days after filing the RTI application followed by an alleged threat by the medico against whom whom the information was sought, the whistleblower recorded his statement at a police station in Gwalior on Monday.

After the alleged threat from Dr Chourasia, Ashish had lodged a police complaint at Jhansi road police station on September 18.

When the police did not act, Ashish told TOI, I asked them about the status of investigation, but the cops strangely asked me to record my statement.

On Monday, Ashish again told police that "after filing RTI application on September 9 last year, he had received a threat on his mobile on September 16 from Dr ID Chourasia who said chief minister and health ministers are his good friends."

He told police, "Chourasia threatened me and said he can damage you."

After a similar statement on September 18, Jhansi road police station Gwalior had registered an FIR for criminal intimidation against Dr Chourasia under Section 507 of the IPC.

Station house officer of the police station Alok Singh Bhadoria said, "After filing FIR, Ashish did not record his statement. Now, that he has done, we will start investigation in the case."

However, Ashish denied that police ever approached him for recording his statement.

On one hand, the government is not making available information on illegal appointment, on the other hand they had leaked the RTI application to Dr Chourasia,which is a crime, he told TOI.