In Ranchi, activists feel unsafe, seek protection

[karira]

As reported by Manoj Prasad in indianexpress.com on 21 May 2008:
IndianExpress.com :: In Ranchi, activists feel unsafe, seek protection

In Ranchi, activists feel unsafe, seek protection

Daltongunj, May 20: Five days after an activist fighting for social audit of the NREGS was found dead near here, his fellow workers are angry, and afraid. A meeting held by a group of NGOs campaigning for RTI and NREGS accountability in Ranchi, Garhwa and Daltongunj last night demanded that Lalit Kumar Mehta’s killers be arrested soon or the case be handed over to the CBI.

The activists also demanded that protection be provided to all of those fighting for RTI and proper implementation of the NREGS. “We know who is behind the murder,” said Manoj Singh, president of the Vikas Sahyog Kendra (VSK), which was founded by Mehta.

Ram Kumar, a member of the VKS, said activists seeking social audit of the NREGS as well as state government officials were facing threats.
“None of us informed the police because instead of backing us the police tend to back the nexus between corrupt officials and middlemen, which has reduced the NREGS to a farce,” said Singh.

No arrest has been made in connection with Mehta’s murder so far. His body was recovered near the highway in the Kandra forests. Asked if the police had made any headway in the case, Daltongunj SP Deepak Verma said: “I cannot say anything at this moment.”

[opsharma]

May be this article should merge with "PM cautions against middlemen".