Rights activist commits suicide in Pune

Police started an investigation on Wednesday after Right to Information (RTI) activist Vilas Baravkar committed suicide at his residence in Pune.

He left a suicide note in which he has blamed over 50 politicians, government officers and police officers on a stamp paper.

Investigating officer, Kishore Patil, said that a probe is being carried out.

"He has committed suicide by hanging himself, there is strangulation. We will carry out the investigation on the basis of what he has written in his suicide note," Patil said.

On question asked to the investigating officer if there were any names of officers, politicians in his suicide note , Patil replied, "He has mentioned what he wanted to in his note, we will carry out investigation bring out the conclusion."

Patil also said that post mortem was done.

Reportedly, Baravkar exposed construction misdeeds and various other issues in Chakan town of the Pune district. He had filed RTI applications relating to land issues and bank issues in town.

Meanwhile, a son-in-law of Baravkar, Sushil Shevkari, called for a proper investigation from the superintendent of police.

"He had told me that he was facing threats, he had mentioned this to me two to three times, but he continued with his work against corruption, the police have the names of all the people he has been fighting against, the Superintendent of Police should come and investigate the matter," Shevkari said.

Baravkar is not the only victim. Lately, many RTI activists, including Satish Shetty, Arun Sawant, Vitthal Gite, Premnath Jha, and Rajesh Bobade were murdered.

The Right to Information (RTI) Act - similar to the Freedom of Information Act in the United States - was enacted almost nine years ago and is aimed at providing a practical way for all citizens to access information held by public authorities.

But according to the Asian Centre for Human Rights, at least 12 RTI activists have been murdered till November 2011 for seeking information deemed to be in the public interest, a growing concern for the country's human rights commission.