E-Paper
'I was forced to leave my hometown'
On February 14, 2007, I filed an RTI application at SSP Moradabad (Prem Prakash) office seeking details about the recruitment of police constables in the Moradabad district.
Saleem Baig
Filed an RTI seeking to unearth caste-based recruitment in Moradabad police.
On February 14, 2007, I filed an RTI application at SSP Moradabad (Prem Prakash) office seeking details about the recruitment of police constables in the Moradabad district. I had come to know about certain irregularities in appointments - candidates of a particular caste were being given preference. I was told to submit Rs. 58,397 as fee for the answers. Flouting RTI norms, the police department told me that the information would take 148 days to be given out.
I then approached UP State Information Commission (UPSIC), the RTI watchdog body, in July 2007. Information commissioner Gyanendra Sharma (now retired) served a show cause notice to Kushar Saurabh- nodal officer of SSP Moradabad apart from slapping a fine of R25,000 for flouting RTI Act norms.
This UPSIC order was enough for the police officials to start harassing me and my family. I was threatened me with grave repercussions for waging a battle against the police. They implicated me in fake cases of theft and extortion, among others.
On June 29, 2008, police picked me up in connection with some fake cases. I was released after 19 days and learnt that the police was conspiring to implicate me in more such cases. I was forced by my parents to leave town. Since then I have been living in Lucknow. But I continued my fight for justice.
I am waiting the number of applicants who applied for the police constable recruitment as asked in RTI. I still believe something was wrong in the recruitment. A case is still pending against me in a court. But I have all the faith in judiciary.
