Another RTI activist murdered: Anand Prakash Rajput shot dead in UP
9 Feb, 2013The headmaster of a government primary school and an RTI activist has been shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the Mohammadabad police station area of Farrukhabad district in Uttar Pradesh. He left the school at 12.30 pm on his motorcycle along with a Class V student Mukesh, to bring midday meal from a local supplier. Just as they moved about 100 metres, three youths riding a motorcycle stopped them. There was a conversation for about for five minutes after which he was fired at. The bullet hit him on head and he died before he could reach the hospital.
Anand Prakash Rajput, the headmaster at Ram Nagar primary school in Mohammadabad area of was using the Right to Information (RTI) Act to expose the corruption in the education system. On the basis of the information received through RTI, he was able to get three teachers dismissed from service for getting jobs on the basis of forged documents. The Farrukhabad Additional Superintendent of Police has told that the police was gathering information about these teachers as they are "prime suspects". He also said that Rajput was well known as an RTI activist and had repeatedly challenged the irregularities in the Basic Education Department.
As per the Superintendent of Police of Farrukhabad, about 15 RTI applications filed by Rajput were pending with the Education Department.