An alleged assault at the Pune collectorate over information sought under the Right to Information Act has led to complaints from both an RTI activist and Maval MLA Sunil Shelke, with police verifying the allegations and preparing to take legal action.
The incident reportedly took place around 3pm on Friday inside a room at the collectorate. RTI activist Sunil Raghunath Gujar, a resident of Pimploli in Maval taluka, alleged that Shelke and his supporters verbally abused him, checked his bag and assaulted him by hand during a confrontation.
According to the police, Gujar submitted a written complaint regarding the alleged assault. The complaint followed a dispute over information he had been seeking about alleged irregularities involving mines, stone crushers and land belonging to the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation in Maval.
Gujar alleged that irregularities in mining royalties had caused significant losses to the state exchequer. He and his associates also alleged that illegal mines and stone crushers continued to operate in Maval and that administrative officials were not acting against the alleged violations because of political pressure.
Shelke has filed a counter-complaint with the police commissioner. In it, he alleged that Gujar was supplying information about him to political rivals and sought a detailed inquiry into the activist’s activities. Shelke also expressed suspicion that Gujar was attempting to obtain his personal, sensitive and business-related information by filing RTI applications in other people’s names.
The MLA further alleged that Gujar had been seen near his office and at public events in recent days. The allegations in the counter-complaint remain subject to police verification, as do the claims made by Gujar in his complaint.
The dispute places the use of the RTI process alongside questions about oversight of mining activity, royalty collection and land administered by public agencies. The supplied police account does not establish whether the alleged mining and royalty irregularities occurred, or whether any official action was delayed because of political pressure.
Police said both sides had filed complaints against each other and that the allegations were being verified. The police are expected to take legal action based on the findings of that inquiry.
