Porbander: Four people including a hotel owner have been arrested for assaulting a RTI activist Baghu Dewani in Porbandar on Friday. The 65-year-old advocate-activist Bhaghubahi Dewani was first assaulted with sticks and then stabbed thrice in the abdomen.
Dewani has accused former BJP minister Babu Bokhiria of being behind the attack. Bokhiria has interests in mining and construction around Porbandar city.
Dewani had filed RTI applications seeking information on illegal construction in Porbandar city, especially schemes that are being promoted by people enjoying political clout in the city.
This is not the first time that RTI activists have been attacked in Gujarat.
Earlier in February, 45-year-old Jabbardan Gadhvi of Rapar in Kutch had set himself ablaze in the compound of a Mamlatdar's office. Gadhvi's family claimed that he had received constant threats from the Mamlatdar, Talati and the PSI after he had sought information on irregularities in cattle grazing in the Rapar taluka of Kutch district.
In another case, in July 2010, RTI activist Amit Jethwa was shot dead near the Gujarat High Court in Ahmedabad. Jethwa was campaigning against alleged illegal mining in the Gir Sanctuary areas, which allegedly had the backing of some politicians.
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