A day after Noida-based RTI activist Chandra Mohan Sharma was found charred to death in his Chevy, police have registered a case of murder against five men. Meanwhile, the family of the deceased alleged that the police failed to provide security to Chandra Mohan despite frequent attempts on his life in the past one year. Demanding a CBI inquiry, they also blamed the callous approach of the police that had caused the victim’s death.
The post-mortem report of Chandra Mohan indicated death due to asphyxiation caused by toxic smoke in the burning car. Anurag Singh, Circle Officer of Greater Noida, said prima facie it indicates a burned-out car but police are investigating the case from all angles given Chandra Mohan’s antecedents. “The preliminary autopsy report suggests suffocation as cause of death. Burn injuries were found all over his body,” said Singh.
An FIR under Section 302 of IPC has also been registered against Brijesh, Raju, Rajkumar, Aanand and Praveen on the basis of complaint filed by the family. “We have assured the family of investigating the matter with a fine-toothed comb. We have sent the DNA and viscera samples to forensics and are awaiting the final autopsy findings,” added Singh.
Sabita, widow of Chandra Mohan Sharma and a leader of Aam Aadmi Party, said her husband was being targeted of late. “Attempts on his life were taking place at alarming intervals. We had approached police demanding action against the attackers. But police assurances never translated into cohesive action. Now, the police are trying to guise a murder as a freak accident. We demand a CBI probe, else we start an agitation,” she stated.
The family on Saturday revealed the RTI activist was on the radar of the land mafia. “Since Chandra Mohan had disrobed the land mafia of the region and collated concrete evidence nailing them, they were baying for his blood. They had publicly warned him of dire consequences,” said Videsh Kumar, brother-in-law of the deceased.
Videsh also suspects the roles of Brijesh, Raju, Rajkumar, Aanand and Praveen — all residents of Kasna village — in the murder of his relative “Chandra Mohan had unearthed a case of land grabbing in their village earlier and since then they were trying to exact revenge. last year, when Chandra Mohan and I were going towards Crowne Plaza, they hit our motorbike with their car in which my leg was fractured while Chandra Mohan sustained a neck inquiry. We had lodged a complaint but no action was taken. Around eight moths back, another attack was made near the Collectorate by the very same people,” he said.