Chandanmal Mehta Jain
RTI Activist
Madhya Pradesh
 

HRDA has issued an urgent appeal to the National Human Rights Commission of India on February 10, 2020 regarding death threats issued by representatives of the Rawati village panchayat in Bajna block of Ratlam district in Madhya Pradesh to Mr. Chandanmal Mehta Jain. Mr. Jain an RTI activist and human rights defender.
On the evening of December 13, 2019,  Mr. Jain was waylaid at the Rawati village market on his way to Umar village. Mr. Mukesh Boria – a panch, Mr. Kana Makwana – husband of Rawati village panchayat sarpanch Ms. Geetabai, and Mr. Om Boria – deputy sarpanch stopped him and threatened to break his legs and kill him if he did not stop filing RTI applications against the Rawati village panchayat or if he tried complaining to the police. They abused him and threatened to burn and wipe out his entire family before local people intervened and perpetrators let go of him. 

Mr. Jain had been receiving regular death threats from panchayat representatives for filing RTI applications seeking information on various irregularities and inconsistencies in the workings of the panchayat. He complained to the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Ratlam regarding the death threats on December 12, 2020, but was told that nothing could be done due to the political influence of the perpetrators. He also complained to the Ratlam District Collector on January 7, 2020 about threats to his life from representatives of Rawati Panchayat.