An RTI activist was arrested for allegedly faking a Lokayukta notice in order to extort money from a government worker. The accused has been granted bail by high court.
Bangalore Mirror reported that Suresh Avate allegedly sent a fake Lokayukta notice to a supervisor of the Women and Children Welfare Department in Afzalpur in Kalaburgi district claiming she had spent a lot of money on purchasing eggs meant for kids in anganwadi centre.
When the officer went to the Lokayukta office, she realised that no such notice had been issued. A complaint was filed on him, as Avate had allegedly filed RTI applications asking details on how much money was spent on purchasing eggs. He has been remanded to judicial custody since October 12, said the newspaper report.
BM reported that on September 24, the supervisor received a letter from `Karnataka Lokayukta', which had a notice saying she should appear before the Lokayukta on September 29, 2015 “with regard to the enquiry regarding the scheme of purchase of eggs to the anganwadi centre.“ When she went she realised it was a fake letter.
The anganwadi worker complained that that Avate had filed an RTI application about the purchase of eggs earlier. He allegedly threatened her to give pay the money, failing which she would be in trouble. On October 1, he had allegedly come to her office, abused her and said he was the one who made her rush to the Lokayukta, said BM report.
However, the complaint against Avate was failed only ten days later.
BM reported that Avate’s was entitled to bail from the high court after the government advocate said that they did not recover any material from him. There was no other complaint against him. The police too did not produce any proof to show that Avate was the one who forged the notice. He was granted bail on a bond of Rs 50,000 after he had spent 15 days in custody.
This is an aggregated report from Bangalore Mirror