Whistleblowers have said that the Government has failed to offer enough protection to the journalists, RTI activists and social activists who speak out against corruptions at the Human Rights Defender Alert (HRDA) meeting here on Sunday.
The whistle-blowers have warned that more needs to be done to protect them and encourage others in the process to speak out against atrocities happening in Odisha.
Notably, NA Saha Ansari, vice president of Community Radio Association of India, was physically attacked by a local goon allied to politicians at Konark town area in Puri district with the intention to intimidate and harm the defender on January 13.
Ansari had been the target of vested interest groups in the past for exposing corruption in public distribution system (PDS) through the use of Right to Information Act. He has filed hundreds of RTI queries in various State Government departments.
Human Rights Defender Alert (HRDA), east zone coordinator Chandranath Dani said, “A FIR filed according to the connection at the Konark police station on January 14 was registered under Sections 341, 323, 294 and 506 of Indian Penal Code. But neither the police nor the district administration took any action till now.”
Rights defenders therefore urged the Government to immediately take necessary steps to ensure that people, who browbeat, harass or threaten social activists, are arrested. This is possible when cases of physical assault on the human rights defenders are properly investigated, they said.