India: RTI activist found dead
Event- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Feb 1, 2020
- Event Description
Mr. Ranjan Kumar Das is a Right to Information (RTI) activist based in Odisha.He was the Kendrapara district unit convener of Odisha Jana Suchana Adhikar Abhijan (OSAA) which is a state level platform of HRDs. Hewas associated with OSAA since 2012.Hewasknown for filing multiple RTI applications in connection with several irregularities in Kendrapara district. RTI inquiry filed by Ranjan Kumar Das in 2018 had exposedbrazen violation of law by Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) in building a tourist resort in Odisha’s BhitarkanikaNational Park’s core area where no such construction is allowed. In 2019 the he had exposed misappropriation of funds allotted under Integrated CoastalZone Management (ICZM) to an NGO of the district in connivance with officials of Bhitarkanika National Park by not planting mangrove trees in the forest.
According to sources on 1 February, 2020 morning the dead body of Mr. Ranjan Kumar Das was found just about 2 km from his homeunder mysterious circumstances on roadside near Sinikata area of Beruan village under Marshaghai block in Kendrapara district in Odishawith multiple injuries on the head and face.According to sources, the body of the HRD was spotted by locals early on morning and they informed the police immediately. His family members and friends suspect that he might have been murdered. Sources informed that Mr. Ranjan Kumar Daswas regularly receiving death threats for seeking information including on the numerous brick kilns that had sprung up illegally. He informed about the threat to his life to the district police and even filed a complaint before the Patamundai police station, Kendrapara but it is alleged that the police did not take any immediate action. HRDA was informed that only last month his parents received death threats asking them to keep Mr. Ranjan Kumar Dasactivism under check.Recently, he had lodged a case before the Odisha Lokayukta alleging encroachment of 1,100 acres of government land by a resident of Mahakalpada for shrimp farming. He also exposed irregularities in a recent mini-stadium project which was to be built by using manual labour under the NREGA scheme but instead of following those guidelines the contractor used JCB machines to do that work. Mr. Ranjan documented the irregularitiesand exposed the corrupt practices due to which the payments of the contractors were withheld. He had also filed RTI applications seeking information about the quality of dry food for babies in anganwadi centres as well as irregularities in government schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Rozgar Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awaas Yojana. Mr. Ranjan used to file petitions before the Vigilance department and Lokayukta urging them to conduct inquiry into matters of corruption in the district. RTI activists in Odisha suspect that Mr. Ranjan might have been killed as he had raised his voice against illegal sand quarries, brick kiln owners, a few NGOs and officials in the district and its nearby areas by obtaining information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Death
- Extrajudicial Killing
- Violence (physical)
- Rights Concerned
- Right to life
- HRD
- RTI activist
- Perpetrator-Non-State
- Suspected non-state
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Event Location
Latitude: 20.187331793067553
Longitude: 85.72320930688186
- Event Location
- Summary for Publications
On 1 February 2020, the dead body of Ranjan Kumar Das, RTI activist, was found after he received death threats in Beruan village, India.