Urgent Appeal regarding repeated threats and attempts with the intention to kill an RTI Activist and Human Rights Defender Mr. Prakash Chandra Pathak by the panchayat pradhan (head) and his associates in the village Atibara, Tahshil Sadar, police station Jalalabad, district Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
 Sanjay Sharma<tahririndia@gmail.com> | Mon, Sep 21, 2015 at 6:17 PM |
| To: covdnhrc@nic.in, “HRD Focal Point in NHRC” <hrd-nhrc@nic.in>, uphrclko <uphrclko@yahoo.co.in>, hgovup <hgovup@gov.in>, cmup <cmup@nic.in>, csup <csup@nic.in>, dgp@up.nic.in, uppcc <uppcc@up.nic.in>, uppcc-up <uppcc-up@nic.in>, dmsha@nic.in, spsha-up <spsha-up@nic.in>, urgent-action@ohchr.org, jgaziyev@ohchr.org, defenders@ohchr.org | |
To,
1- The Chairperson National Human Rights Commission, ManavAdhikarBhawan, Block-C, GPO Complex, INA, New Delhi – 110 023 Email: covdnhrc@nic.in 2- Shri A. K. Parashar National Focal Point - Human Rights Defenders & Joint Registrar National Human Rights Commission ManavAdhikarBhawan, Block-C, GPO Complex, INA, New Delhi – 110 023 Email: hrd-nhrc@nic.in 3- Mr. Justice U.K. Dhaon Chairperson, U.P. State Human Rights Commission, TC-34 V-1, VibhutiKhand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow-226010 Fax No.: 0522 – 2305808 uphrclko@yahoo.co.in 4- Shri Ram Naik, Governor of Uttar Pradesh Raj Bhavan, Lucknow, Uttar Prdesh -226 027 Phone: 0522-2620494, 2236497, 2236498 Email: hgovup@gov.in 5- Shri AkhileshYadav Hon’ble Chief Minister, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh, Luncknow, Uttar Pradesh. Ph: 0522-2236181 2239296 2215501 Fax: 0522-2236838 2236985 E.mail: cmup@nic.in 6- Shri Alok Ranjan, Chief Secretary, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Ph: 0522-2221599 Fax: 0522-2239283 E.mail: csup@nic.in 7- Director General of Police, Police Headquarters, No.1, TilakMarg, City Lucknow, Pin: 226001. Uttar Pradesh Ph: 0522-2206104 dgp@up.nic.in 8- Ms. Shubhra Saxena, IAS, District Magistrate / Collector, Shahjahanpur District, Uttar Pradesh, Ph: 05842 222221 dmsha@nic.in 9- Mr. Babloo Kumar Superintendent of Police, Shahjahanpur District, Uttar Pradesh Ph: 05842 – 222553, 05842-222415, Mobile: 9454400306 spsha-up@nic.in 10- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mr. Michel Forst c/o Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights – Palais Wilson United Nations Office at Geneva CH 1211 Geneva 10 Switzerland Email: urgent-action@ohchr.org jgaziyev@ohchr.org defenders@ohchr.org Sub.: Urgent Appeal regarding repeated threats and attempts with the intention to kill an RTI Activist and Human Rights Defender Mr. Prakash Chandra Pathak by the panchayat pradhan (head) and his associates in the village Atibara, Tahshil Sadar, police station Jalalabad, district Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Sir/Madam, TAHRIR ( Transparency, Accountability & Human Rights initiative for revolution ) is a Bareilly/Lucknow based Social Organization, working at grass-root level by taking up & solving issues related to strengthening transparency & accountability in public life and protection of Human Rights in India. We are now writing to express our grave concern regarding repeated threats and attempts with the intention to kill an RTI Activist and Human Rights Defender Mr. Prakash Chandra Pathak by the panchayat pradhan (head) and his associates in the village Atibara, Tahshil Sadar, police station Jalalabad, district Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Mr. Prakash Chandra Pathak is being regularly targeted and facing the risk of being killed for exposing irregularities and corruption in the working of panchayat and district administration by using Right to Information Act. Mr. Prakash Chandra Pathak also escaped an attempt to physically burn him down during an attack by the perpetrators in which his house was put on fire in the month of January 2015. Source of Information on the Incident: The Regional Coordinator of HRDA for North of India Communication from Mr. Surendra M. Bhanot, President - RTIFED Communication with human rights defender Mr. P C Pathak Status of HRD: Mr. Prakash Chandra Pathak is an RTI Activist and human rights defender who belongs to Village Atibara, Tehshil Sadar, Police Station Jalalabad, District Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He is at present an active member of his village Gram Panchayat. He is an ex-serviceman who served in Indian Navy before starting his social activities as an RTI activist. He started filing RTI queries in 2008. Since then he has been active in the promotion of transparency, accountability and to contain corruption in public places by seeking information by exercising his right under the Right to Information Act 2005. So far he has filed more than 350 RTI applications in various departments in the district of Shahjanpur, Uttar Pradesh such as Village Development Office, Food Supply Department, Education Department, Telecommunication Department, Department looking after MNREGA schemes for rural employment, Mid Day meal scheme and Child Development Department responsible for Aaganwadi Centers. In 2009 and 2010 on the basis of his RTI query, irregularities in mid day Meal scheme implementation in three schools of the district were exposed. The schools were Primary School, Atibara, Shahjahanpur, Primary School, Udrapur, Shahjahanpur and Junior High School, Atibara, Shahjahanpur, He filed a complaint in the State Food Cell in 2009 related to mid day meal scheme and the Food Cell conducted an enquiry into the matter in 2010. The report of the enquiry revealed that for the last four years no mid day meal was served in three schools of Shahjahanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. On the directions of State Food Cell, a criminal case was registered in Jalalabad police station with case no: 109/11 under sections 420,467, 468, 471, 409, 120 B of IPC and section 3/7 under Essential Commodities Act (ECT) against village head, fair price shop dealer, panchayat secretary, school teacher and district food supply officer. On 24 July 2015 Mr. Prakash Chandra Pathak also wrote a letter to the chief Secretary of Government of Uttar Pradesh and others high officers for providing security for his protection from the threats he faces time and again on his life from people accused of corruption and malpractices ranging from panchayat officials to the government officials. The defender is being targeted and even attacked and living under constant threat to his life just because he has been instrumental in launching criminal proceedings against many locally powerful people by exposing the large scale corruption through exercising the Right to Information under Right to Information Act 2005. The Perpetrators: Mr. Naresh s/o late Khyoraj (sitting village head) 2 Unknown persons Mr. Raju Singh s/o Chote Singh (Defender says he is not the accused but a master mind along with others) Date of Incident: 27 August, 2015 his house was attacked. Earlier on 14 January, 2015 attempt was made to burn him alive at his house. Place of Incident: Village Atibara, Tahshil Sadar, Police Station Jalalabad, district Shahjanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Incident detail: According to sources on 27th August 2015 at 12.45 PM in the night 4 to 5 unidentified persons tried to enter into the house of Mr. Mr. Prakash Chandra Pathak by climbing the electricity poll just 2 feet away from his house. It was dark due to power cut in the area. They came with the intention to attack with the intention to kill the human rights defender. Mr. Prakash Chandra Pathak was not at home that day. His son Mr. Sunil Pathak was at home on his bed. Anticipating the presence of some people and their movement he shouted for help. Neighbours came to see what exactly is happing there. In a commotion those who forcibly entered the house, ran away. The family informed the SHO of Jalalabad police station who came next day. Mr. Prakash Chandra Pathak came back the next day. The SHO told Mr. Prakash Chandra Pathak to be careful for his safety because his enemies are out to target him. Mr. Prakash Chandra Pathak has made many enemies by exposing through the use of RTIs the involvement of many socially and politically dominating persons from his area in corruption and illegal practices. Sources also informed that the human rights defender Mr. Prakash Chandra Pathak filed a complaint letter on 3rd September, 2015 in the office of District Magistrate, Shahjanpur regarding unauthorized occupation of 6.5 hectare of Gram Sabha land for the last 5 years. It was informed that on 2nd September 2015 construction of cemented houses was started in the aforementioned gram sabha land. The defender contacted the SDM Sadar who asked the Jalalabad police station SHO to demolish the unauthorized construction. The police arrested some people but later released them. After the incident the defender has been receiving verbal threats with warning that he would be physically eliminated. Background Details: On 14 January 2015, Mr. Prakash Chandra Pathak could save his life by escaping from his house when three people entered his house at 1.30 PM in the night and burnt his house. Mr. Prakash Chandra Pathak could only identify Mr. Naresh s/o Late Khyoraj, the present village head and two unidentified persons. A case was filed in police case no: 64/15 under section 307 and 436 IPC in which three people were named. The accused in the case with the help of a state politician managed a final report from the police clearing their involvement in the murderous attempt on the life of the defender. On 15 December 2010 when the defender Mr. Prakash Chandra Pathak was returning home in his car, around 10.45 PM some unknown assailants all of a sudden started firing indiscriminately at his car. Mr. Pathak had a private security guard with him who saved his life. In the incident his car was damaged. A case of attempt to murder was filed with case no: 743/2010. Other cases registered on the basis of Mr. Prakash Chandra Pathak’s RTI Queries Case No; 895/2010 is related to nonpayment of salaries to the cooks given the work of preparing Mid Day Meal for school children. Case No: 526/2013 is related to embezzlement of funds earmarked for Mid Day Meal. The accused in the case are - Mr. Naresh, sitting Village head, Ms. Gayatri Devi, Principal, Primary School, Atibara, Mr. Krishna Pal Singh s/o Mr. Heera Singh, Mr. Ram Nath s/o Later Kundan, Smt. Nirmala Kaur w/o Mr. Jaspal Singh and other government officials. Appeal : We therefore urge you to immediately take necessary steps to ensure that the Superintendent of Police and the District Collector and District Magistrate of Shahjanabad District: • Order an immediate, thorough, transparent, effective and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned incident of attempt to kill the defender Mr. Prakash Chandra Pathak; • Take immediate action on the perpetrators mentioned above for threatening and attempting to kill the human rights defender Mr. Prakash Chandra Pathak and using all provisions of law to ensure that the defender is not harassed and threatened in future; • Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Prakash Chandra Pathak who is still under risk of further reprisals from the perpetrators and give this assurance to the NHRC of India in writing immediately and urgently; • Put an end to all acts of harassment against all RTI activists and human rights defenders in Uttar Pradesh to ensure that in all circumstances they carry out their activities as defenders of human rights without any hindrances; • Ensure the right to seek information guaranteed by the RTI Act and the Article 21 of the Constitution of India which guarantees personal liberty; • Take steps to conform to the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially: - Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels - Article 12.2, which provides that "the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”; • Recommend urgently and speedily during the pendency of this complaint, the SHRC in Uttar Pradesh to also take necessary steps to establish a state focal point for HRDs in order that HRDs have a new protection mechanism in their own state; • Recommend urgently and speedily during the pendency of this complaint, the SHRC in Uttar Pradesh to convene meetings of all state human rights institutions in the state [women, minorities, right to information, disability, children etc] to ensure that a coordinated strategy is developed within Uttar Pradesh for the protection of the rights of human rights defenders; • Recommend urgently and speedily during the pendency of this complaint, the State Government of Uttar Pradesh in collaboration with the NHRC Focal Point on HRDs to provide sensitization training to law enforcement and security forces on the role and activities of human rights defenders as a matter of priority, with technical advice and assistance from relevant United Nations entities, NGOs and other partners; • Recommend urgently and speedily during the pendency of this complaint, the Government of Uttar Pradesh to publicly acknowledge the importance and legitimacy of the work of human rights defenders, i.e. anyone who, “individually and in association with others, ... promote[s] and ... strive[s] for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels” (Art.1 of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders); • More generally, ensures in all circumstances the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with international human rights instruments ratified by India is strictly adhered to in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Looking forward to your immediate action in this regard, Date : 21-09-2015 Yours sincerely, Sanjay Sharma سنجے شرما संजय शर्मा ( Founder & Chairman) Transparency, Accountability & Human Rights Initiative for Revolution ( TAHRIR ) Narain Tower,F Block, Rajajipuram Lucknow,Uttar Pradesh-226017 https://www.facebook.com/ Website :http://tahririndia.blogspot. E-mail : tahririndia@gmail.com | |
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