IBN Lokmat raises voice over the death of RTI activist
Marathi News channels have been doing a commendable job to fight injustice in the society, by raising many issues inviting the attention of people and the Government. The gruesome murder during broad daylight of an RTI activist and social worker-Satish Shetty , who worked for public interest; had sent shock waves among people. But, it was only due to exposing the poor investigation by the Police and expressing possibility of a political hand behind the murder, the IBN- Lokmat channel brought so many things to the notice of general public. With the pressure mounting on Police and Government, now even the opposition party leader has demanded CBI investigation into the case. Today, it is only the media, which can come to the rescue of common man, when the law and order situations worsens in the state.
To support the debate over this issue, the channel not only invited the views of eminent social activist Anna Hazare and the RTI commissioner Mr. Gandhi live but also invited to their studio a young RTI activist from Mumbai Mr. Awasthi , who was involved in exposing the developer and minister nexus over misuse of World bank aid. The youngster disclosed that for seeking RTI support, he was falsely implicated in a bogus case and was sent to Police lock up, where he was threatened by the goons of a Developer. Indeed, Land mafia have raised their ugly head, with the support of few politicians and Policemen. It was a fine gesture on the part of IBN-Lokmat Editor Nikhil Wagle, to present the story of this young activist and openly offering him all support from his media house in future. We need many more such programmes and exposures to combat such heinous acts.