MOTIHARI: Noted right-to-information (RTI) activist
Rajendra Prasad Singh, 60, was shot dead by some motorcycle-borne assailants on NH-28 near Mathbanawari village under Pipra Kothi police station in
East Champaran district on Tuesday. Riding his bike, Rajendra was on his way to Motihari from his native village Mangalapur when the goons attacked him, killing him on the spot.
Rajendra is the second RTI activist to be killed in last two months. Earlier in April, Jayant Kumar of
Vaishali district was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen at Garaul Chowk under Garaul police station. Jayant had reportedly earned the displeasure of several government officials in the
district by seeking information on various projects.
Rajendra’s body was brought to Motihari Sadar Hospital for postmortem. Pipra Kothi station house officer (SHO) Abhishek Kumar Singh said efforts were on to nab the culprits. Police sources claimed the involvement of some middlemen in his murder.
After seeking information, Rajendra had lodged a case against 200 fake beneficiaries of the old-age pension scheme, following which they were forced to return the money to the government.
According to Rajendra’s family sources, four attempts were made on his life during the last five years but every time he had had a narrow escape. The deceased’s only daughter Lovely Kumari, 30, alleged that her father, who was a marginal farmer, was fighting against various irregularities in panchayats, blocks, banks and other institutions in the district. “The police too were irked by his activism and he was implicated in several fabricated cases. He was even arrested under the Arms Act in 2016,” said Lovely.
Representative image