The National Commission for Scheduled Cast (NCSC) has asked the SP of Kendrapada for personal appearance in the matter of a Dalit RTI activist’s murder case. The NCSC asked SP Niti Sekhar for personal appearance on February 21 at the office of Dr Yogendra Paswan, Member, NCSC, for discussing the murder case of Ranjan Kumar Das at Marshaghai.
Sekhar was asked to submit case diary and the latest position of the case, action taken there on, including quantum of relief provided to the next kin of the victim.
Notably, the direction was made following Haladhar Sethy, president of Orissa State SC/ST Youth and Student Council, filed a petition before the NCSC on February 1 requesting for investigating the case.
The petitioner alleged that Das, who was a Scheduled Caste, had drawn ire of many people for filing RTI applications to expose many corruption cases, involving Government officials, contractors, leaders etc and therefore was in their target.
Sethy alleged that the old parents of Das said that though their son had earlier reported before police that his life was in danger, police did not take the matter seriously and provide protection. As the victim belonged to the SC community, police are trying to suppress the case, alleged Sethy.