RTI activist's house vandalised in Meghalaya

The under-construction house of a prominent RTI activist was vandalised by unidentified persons in Meghalaya, a police official said on Saturday.

The house, belonging to Curtis Rani, was damaged on Friday night at Mawkneng village, the assembly constituency of Home Minister Horju Donkupar Roy Lyngdoh.

"I have no idea who dismantled the walls of my house, but prior to this incident, village chief of Hima Nongspung Patrick Syiemiong issued a letter on March 2 instructing me to stop the construction of my house," Curtis told IANS.

Curtis said Syiemiong's threat came after the former filed an RTI seeking information on various issues relating to the rules and regulations of the office of Syiem of Hima Nongspung in administering the villages besides financial expenditure.

"A day later, I was verbally informed that Syiemiong wanted me to choose between the house and the RTI," he said.

The RTI activist, who has been threatened in the past for filing an RTI relating to the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), has filed an FIR at Sohiong police station.

"We have received the FIR and investigation has started in the case," the district police chief of East Khasi Hills Mariahom Kharkrang said.

--IANS

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