Three RTI activists booked for ‘spreading’ fake news

The Commissionerate Police for BhubaneswarCuttack has filed cases against three Right to Information activists who alleged that 74 police personnel were deployed for the protection of V.K. Pandian, Chairman, 5T (Transformational Initiatives), and a close aide of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

RTI activist Pradip Pradhan, Prakash Dash, and Srikant Pakal have been booked under Sections 419, 420, 465, 468, 469, 471, 505 (1)(a)(b)/34 of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly spreading fake news. The case has been filed at the Saheed Nagar police station.

On March 30, the RTI activists held a press conference in Bhubaneswar,

The Odisha police have booked cases under several Sections of the Indian Penal Code.

where they said that the number of police personnel deployed for the security of Mr. Pandian was unusually high. They quoted purported information obtained through an RTI query.

The police have dismissed the claim stating that no such reply had been supplied to any RTI applicant. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bhubaneswar, Prateek Singh had said,

“We are assessing the veracity of the purported letter.”

At the press conference conducted by the Odisha Soochna Adhikar Abhijan (OSSA), Mr. Dash said that the Reserve Inspector of Police, Bhubaneswar, had informed that two armed subinspectors, 11 havildars, 53 constables, and four women constables in addition to a protection vehicle were deployed for Mr. Pandian’s security. The issue triggered massive controversy as the BJP raised the issue before the Chief Electoral Officer.

Reacting to the registration of cases, the activists stuck to their claims. “We have not produced any manufactured information. The letter we quoted did exist,” Mr. Pradhan, convener of the OSAA, claimed.