Activist writes to PMO after being allegedly threatened by former MCD employee accused of corruption

Curiosity trapped this RTI campaigner

Activist writes to PMO after being allegedly threatened by former MCD employee accused of corruption

Fighting corruption is never easy, especially when it involves the powerful. 30-year-old Syed Izhar Ul Hasan

knows the story all too well.
Hasan, a resident of Jamia Nagar, filed an RTI against a former Junior Engineer (JE) of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), who was linked to a corruption case. In return, the activist was allegedly showered with threat calls by the accused himself.u00a0

In 2006, Hasan filed an RTI plea regarding the case of Sayed Nasirul Hasan, 60, the then JE of MCD. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had conducted a raid at Nasirul's house in 2001 and Hasan tried to know the developments in the case.

"I just tried to find out the status of the case, as I had come to know that when the CBI conducted a raid on Nasirul's house, they had discovered a photocopy of their documents. Also, I got to know from the CBI that they are going to close the case. That's when I suspected foul play. I again filed an RTI for the details of Nasirul from MCD, but surprisingly, the MCD official wrote back saying that Nasirul was absent since December 12, 2004 and subsequently retired in August 2009," said Hasan.

But Hasan's efforts to highlight the issue soon hit a roadblock and a series of threat calls by some goons, allegedly employed by the former MCD engineer, made his life uncomfortable.
"I filed RTIs in different departments regarding this, but nothing happened. Nasirul and his goons started threatening me. They would often call me and would cite dire consequences if the plea was not taken back," explained the RTI activist.

"Distressed with the happenings, I wrote a letter to the Prime Minister's Office on August 6, 2009. The PMO then wrote to the Delhi Police Commissioner on February 3, 2010, asking him to take appropriate action. But even after three months, no steps were taken by the police. The goons went to the extent of kidnapping my father and forcibly made him sign a few documents. This is just getting too dangerous and now I have filed a complaint at the Jamia Nagar police station," added Hasan.

MiD DAY has the documents pertaining to the corruption case of the former MCD employee, Sayed Nasirul Hasan.

"I have a number of documents that can send him behind bars and that is the reason why these people are trying to get rid of me. I have already written a letter to the local police station about the threat calls made to me and my family," said Hasan.

"We are investigating the matter and are looking for possible reasons behind these threat calls," said a police officer.

Meanwhile, the MCD has also roped in its team to investigate the case of Nasirul. "We have an inquiry team but there has been no response from Nasirul's side. He doesn't answer to the notices sent and has never attended the proceedings of inquiry. He is untraceable," said an MCD officer.

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