Karnataka HC issues notice to police on murder of RTI activist
22 Nov, 2012Treating the press reports about the brutal murder of an RTI activist in Bangalore as a suo motu PIL, a Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen of the Karnataka High Court (HC) yesterday directed issue of notice to police. The HC also appointed senior counsel Hazmath Pasha as amicus curiae to assist the court in the matter.
Forty year old Lingaraju was killed in front of his house at Vittal Nagar in Chamarajpet by three unidentified persons on November 20, 2012. He was rushed to a private hospital where doctors declared him dead.
Lingaraju was said to be a multifaceted personality and had worked in Canara Bank, launched a Kannada tabloid “Maha Prachanda”, dabbled in real estate, associated with Congress Party and had turned into a RTI activist after the closure of the tabloid.
He had filed a private complaint in the Lokayukta Court against Govindraju, his political rival, and the Lokayukta police had raided the residence on November 9. The raid led to the recovery of documents relating to property besides assets worth over Rs 16 crore. It has been claimed by Lingaraju’s wife that there was pressure to get the complaint withdrawn. It has been alleged in the police complaint that Govindraju’s wife, Gowramma, and her associates were behind Lingaraju’s murder.