RTI activist survives attack near Pune

Noted Right to Information (RTI) activist Arun Mane was attacked on Sunday by unidentified assailants in a town near here, nearly a year after his friend Satish Shetty, another well-known RTI crusader, was murdered.

Noted Right to Information (RTI) activist Arun Mane was attacked on Sunday by unidentified assailants in a town near here, nearly a year after his friend Satish Shetty, another well-known RTI crusader, was murdered.

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The assailants came on motorbikes and attacked Mane with sticks in Talegaon Dabhade, around 30 km from here, the police said. The attackers fled as soon as Mane fell unconscious. He was later taken to a hospital and is stable.

Mane had previously worked with Shetty, who was murdered on January 13 last year for blowing the whistle on land scams around Lonavla, Pimpri and Chinchwad areas.

“Post Shetty’s death, I continued to carry forward his work and was trying to procure information on some land deals,” Mane said.

Mane used to be under police protection until last week, when he returned from Alibaug.

“Two days after I stopped taking police protection, some unknown people came to me and threatened me with dire consequences at gun point. These people asked me to stop getting information,” he said.

This is the third attack on RTI activists in the state. On May 22 last year, RTI activist Dattatray Patil was stabbed to death by unidentified attackers.