Relief for information seeker

Central Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi has asked the UP police to book the person who had threatened an RTI activist for seeking information from Aligarh Muslim University, reports Chetan Chauhan.

Central Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi has asked the Uttar Pradesh police to book the person who had threatened an RTI activist for seeking information from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) on alleged transfer of Rs 8 crore from the Provident Fund (PF) deposits. Gandhi on Friday directed the Aligarh SSP to investigate the matter.

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Dr Mohammed Naved Khan, a senior lecturer with the Business Administration Department at AMU, had complained that the police had not taken action in a case lodged by him. He had lodged the case after he was threatened for filing the RTI application.

Khan had filed the application on October 11, 2008, seeking information about transfer of PF deposits. He then received a threatening call. The caller identified himself as an AMU student.

A day later, he reported the incident to the proctor and asked him to register a case. When no case was registered, he lodged a police complaint. He then received a letter from AMU informing that the call was made by an employee of the proctor’s office, but refuted claims that he was threatened. Khan wrote to the Central Information Commission (CIC), as the police were not pursuing the case.