An RTI activist was allegedly assaulted inside a room at Pune District Collectorate after obtaining information related to royalty payments from quarries said by his associates to be linked to MLA Sunil Shelke, according to a report by Civic Mirror – Pune. The allegation has not been independently confirmed, and details of any police complaint were not available in the supplied report.
The activist, identified as Sunil Raghunath Gujar, later went to Bund Garden police station with other RTI activists to submit a complaint, the report said. The information was conveyed to the media by an associate of Gujar who asked not to be named. The alleged incident was said to have taken place during the day inside the Collectorate premises.
According to the report, police were attempting to obtain CCTV footage from the area to establish what happened. No official account from the police confirming the assault, identifying suspects or describing the status of the complaint was included in the material available for this report.
Gujar and his associates have alleged that they were targeted after seeking information under the Right to Information Act about quarries, crushers and royalty-related transactions allegedly connected to Shelke. They have also claimed irregularities in the payment of mining royalties and in transactions involving the exchange of land belonging to the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation.
The allegations further include claims that administrative officials were pressured to prevent action in these matters. Gujar’s associates also said that extraction was continuing at some quarries and crushers they claimed were connected to the MLA. The supplied report did not include documentary evidence establishing these allegations, nor did it provide a response from Shelke.
The incident places attention on the security and accountability of public offices where citizens seek records and submit complaints. Under the RTI framework, citizens can request information from public authorities, but the supplied material does not establish whether any official action was taken on the information sought by Gujar or whether the alleged quarry and royalty issues had been formally investigated.
The report also did not clarify how many people were allegedly involved, whether Gujar received medical treatment, whether the police registered a First Information Report or whether any arrests were made. These details remain material to establishing the nature and seriousness of the incident.
Further clarity is expected from the CCTV review, the police complaint process and official responses from the district administration, police and MLA Sunil Shelke. Until those confirmations are available, the assault and the related allegations remain claims attributed to Gujar’s associates and have not been established as facts.
