Click to play videoMumbai: Days after RTI activist, Satish Shetty, was murdered while on his morning walk by contract killers in Talegaon, his family claims he had asked for protection from the police after receiving threat calls for exposing many a land scams in and around Maharashtra, but no help was provided.
In the last 15 years, Shetty had exposed over 150 cases of wrongdoing, making several enemies.
Shetty's friend/shopkeeper Arun Mane said,”Bahut dushman the.. woh land mafia aur corrupt government official ke against kaam karte the... to inki wajah se wo paise nahi bana sakte the (He had a lot of enemies because he worked against land mafias and corrupt government officials)
Shetty's family has a list of those against whom Satish filed RTIs.
SHETTY'S RTIs
- Shetty had allegedly exposed the possible illegal acquisition of 2800 acres of land worth Rs 4000 crore by IRB on the Mumbai Pune Expressway.
- A case of illegal land registration by the director of the Sable Waghire Company.
The alleged illegal encroachment of land to build the Vaishali wedding hall in connivance with the Talegaon municipality.
- Earlier Shetty's RTI had exposed how a private bungalow had come up on Railway land. The bungalow was demolished and the owner's counsel Advocate Dabhade was discredited. Dabhade and 2 more people have been arrested other suspects are being questioned. But many believe Dabhade is a small fry in a big conspiracy.
Satish’s brother Sandeep Shetty said, “The quantum of money involved in all these scams is so huge and people involved are also very highly connected so I think it is pretty obvious that the state machinery will be manipulated.”
Activists in Pune have vowed to further the work that Shetty's death has left incomplete.
RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar said, “We are shocked but not scared.... we will try and push things to the logical end.”
Banners have come up across Talegaon in honour of the man who defined the word incorruptible, whose name is said to have struck a chord of fear in the highest echelons of Government and who became a thorn in many a wrong path but sadly had to pay a hefty price for it.
Sandeep Shetty said, When he started getting into high profile cases, I asked him why are you doing this, he said to me if they kill me, I will come back in another five minutes, I will reincarnate and again sue them.”
Certainly, Satish Shetty will stay alive in the hearts of those he inspired.
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