RTI activist hacked to death by UP village head

An RTI activist was on Saturday hacked to death by henchmen of a village head in Bahraich, police said.

The activist was rushed to a medical facility by his friends and family members but he could not be saved.

The village head was arrested after a police complaint was filed, a police official told IANS.

According to police, the incident took place in Hardi Gaura village where RTI activist Guru Prasad had sought information on some development work initiated by village head Triloki Nath.

Incensed at this, the village head with some of his supporters barged into his house and attacked him with pickaxes, sticks and some other sharp-edged weapons, police said.

They left him badly injured and fled the crime scene.

Guru's son Vijay and daughter Rinki were also injured in the assault.

The activist's body has been sent for post-mortem examination and police have filed a first information report (FIR) against Triloki Nath and his men, after which the village head was arrested.

Former BJP state president Surya Pratap Shahi termed it "another example of the lawlessness in the state".

"The fact that the tragedy took place just a few days after a journalist was burnt alive at the behest of a state minister, and another journalist was shot dead in Kanpur speaks volumes of the jungle-raj in the state," the BJP leader told IANS.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) state spokesman Vaibhav Maheshwari said senior party leader Sanjay Singh will be visiting the village on Monday.

A statewide protest will be organised by the AAP on June 16 against the 'hooliganism' taking place under the Akhilesh Yadav government.