Ranchi: P Manjunath, Satyendra Dubey and now Lalit Mehta. The list of whistleblowers - people who died trying to expose corruption in the country – seems neverending in India.
Thirty-six-year-old Mehta, an activist with Right to Food and Right to Work, was murdered on May 14 allegedly because he tried to highlight corruption in the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme in Jharkhand.
Mehta was associated with economist Prof Jean Derez and was helping him conduct a social audit of NREGP works in the Chainpur and Chatarpur blocks of Palamau district.
There should be a CBI inquiry into the incident. It’s very difficult to trust the local administration,” says Derez.
It’s been almost a month since Mehta was killed and no arrests have been made so far. Even the local police agree he was killed for trying to bring out the truth.
“His death is certainly related with the kind of work he was doing,” says police spokesperson Raj Kumar Malik.
As for Jharkand's Chief Minster Madhu Koda, his words of reassurance are a little too late.
“Whoever is involved in such kind of work (exposing corruption), will be protected,” he says.
As his family tries to come to terms with the loss, Mehta’s friends and supporters from across Jharkhand have launched a campaign to get justice for him.
A dharna was held last week in Ranchi and a massive rally is being planned in June.
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