Rajkishor Nayak

RTI Activist

Odisha

HRDA has issued an urgent appeal to the National Human Rights Commission of India on 30 April regarding the threat and assault on Mr. Rajkishor Nayak by the sarpanch and her husband in his village in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha. Mr. Nayak is a retired CRPF personnel. He is passionately engaged in social work, rendering voluntary services to the needy and poor tribals in his gram panchayat under the Kaptipada block of Mayurbhanj district.

On May 1, 2017, Mr. Nayak filed a RTI application to access information about the implementation of allotment of houses, list of beneficiaries and the disbursement of funds under the Biju Puca Yojana. Having gone through his RTI application, newly elected sarpanch of the village, Ms. Rajashree Marandi and her husband Mr. Ajaya Kumar Ghan, a contractor, were terribly disturbed as they reportedly feared that the information sought in the RTI might create a case against them. On May 4, 2017, Mr. Ghan threatened Mr. Nayak that he will be falsely booked under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act) if he did not withdraw the RTI Application. Mr. Nayak ignored this threat. Around 4:30 PM on May 16, 2017, while he was riding a two-wheeler, a group of 10 goons allegedly engaged by Mr Ghan, attacked him and beat him mercilessly. He managed to escape.

On May 17, 2017, he went to the Kaptipada Police Station to register a complaint. Mr. Brajabandhu Nayak, the Inspector-in-Charge (IIC), refused to file a FIR, registered only the complaint and provided the Diary Number. When he insisted that he wants an FIR, the IIC said that a FIR will be filed two days after the investigations. After two days, when he went to check the status of the case and get a copy of the FIR, he found that no FIR had been registered and he was asked to compromise on the complaint.

Thereby, the SDPO made a call to the IIC and instructed him to register a case and give him a copy of the FIR. Even after the intervention by the SDPO, till date, Mr. Nayak’s FIR has not been registered. On other hand, the police is trying to arrest Mr. Nayak on the FIR based on a false complaint filed by the opposite party. This matter was subsequently brought before the District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police of the district, but till date no result has been seen in the process of justice