Saturday, October 27, 2012

RTI activist thrashed for complaint against illegal factory on BMC land

A Right to Information (RTI) activist was assaulted by four people running an illegal plastic manufacturing unit on land belonging to the BMC.

The activist, identified as Naushad Khan, 27, had filed an RTI application in July seeking information about the factory set up in the Kismat Nagar pipeline at Sonapur, Bhandup. He also filed a complaint with the fire brigade claiming that the factory could be hazardous for the area which is densely populated.

On August 30, Khan received a reply from BMC stating that the factory was being without legal permission and the people running the factory had not submitted any papers seeking permission to run it.

On Tuesday, when Khan went to the factory with officials from the Vikhroli fire brigade, he was attacked by four people who allegedly ran the factory.

"The factory is run by Abdul Malik, and his partners are Akram, Akbar and Alam Khan. When they came to know that I had filed a complaint against their factory, they started abusing me and assaulted me with sticks. This happened in front of BMC officers," said Khan.

According to Khan, the factory site was recently cleared of encroachments by BMC. The surrounding area is dumped with large quantities of hazardous plastic. This site is located close to the Tansa water pipeline, which supplies water to the city.

"We have arrested Abdul Malik, Akram Khan and Akbar Khan for assaulting Khan. They have been booked under sections 324 of IPC (causing grievous hurt). The fourth, Alam Khan is absconding." said Srirang Nadgowda, senior police inspector of Bhandup police station.

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