Police remand of RTI activist Suresh Kumar extended

Tightening the noose around RTI activist and former AAP president Suresh Kumar Sharma, the Vigilance Bureau has written to the Amritsar Municipal Corporation seeking details of RTI applications filed by four other RTI activists.

Meanwhile, Sharma was produced in a local court after the expiry of his police remand. The court has extended his police remand by three days for further investigations.

Sharma was nabbed by the VB red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 4 lakh from a local resident, Paramdeep Singh, alleging that he was acting as an agent of the Municipal Town Planning (MTP) department by filing an RTI application against the applicants to extort money and then withdrawing them in connivance with MC officials.

Sources in the Vigilance Bureau and the municipal corporation revealed that it has sought the details of the RTI filed by Varun Sareen, Ravinder, Sandeep Mahajan and Jatinder Kumar.

In the letter shot to MC officials, the VB requested for the records of the past six months. They were asked to submit attested copies, details of the nature of the RTI applications and what was current status. Whether any action was taken in these applications is now know?

It may be mentioned here that RTI activist Varun Sareen was also booked by the Cantonment police in the past for similar charges.

The Vigilance Bureau had found empty letter pads of Varun Sareen and other RTI activists from the accused during the raid.

SSP, Vigilance, Lakhbir Singh said the accused was threatening the complainant in the case for action against him. He had allegedly demanded Rs 7 lakh while the deal was settled for Rs 4 lakh. Apart from the MC, the VB has also sought records from the Amritsar Improvement Trust and PUDA.