A police constable has been arrested and three persons detained in connection with the murder of Right to Information (RTI) activist Amit Jethva here last month. Jethva, who had filed a public interest litigation against illegal mining in the Gir forest area, was shot outside the Gujarat High Court on July 20. “After a long investigation, we have tracked down the main accused, Bahadursinh Wadher, a police constable in Junagadh district, for...
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Jethwa’s dad to take his son’s fight ahead by Roxy Gagdekar
Come August 23 and Bhikhu Jethava, father of slain RTI activists Amit Jethava, will become a joint applicant in the last petition filed by the latter against illegal mining. Bhikhu will also mention his dissatisfaction with the police investigation in the much talked about murder case. Bhikhu said he would also demand a CBI investigation into the case. Talking to DNA, Bhikhu alleged that the Gujarat Police had tried to divert the...
More »RTI under attack by V Eshwar Anand
EVEN though the Right to Information Act guarantees citizens their right to know and expose corruption in government offices, increasing attacks on RTI activists have put this most important right in jeopardy. The RTI Act was enacted after a long struggle by civil rights organisations. However, those who dare question the ways of the powers that be and expose them are eliminated in cold-blooded murders. The manner in which Amit...
More »NREGA scam: For women sarpanchs, husbands ran show by Anupam Chakravartty
Eleven women sarpanchs figure in the list of the 48 accused in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) fund scam in Gujarat’s Dahod taluka. Authorities, however, pointed out that the real culprits could be their husbands running the show by proxy on these reserved seats. Fatehsinh Pargi, a resident of Moti Shehra village in Fatehpura taluka, who brought the issue of non-payment of wages and manipulation of job...
More »Ban not the answer to illegal mining, says Handique by Sujay Mehdudia
Days after Union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh lauded the Karnataka government for imposing a ban on iron ore export, Union Mines Minister B.K. Handique came down strongly on the State government for failing to get its act together on checking illegal mining. In a harshly worded letter to Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, Mr. Handique stated that banning iron ore export was not the right approach. Rather, it was a “sad...
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