Force says it is outside the Right to Information ambit

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Director General has refused to reply to an RTI query seeking the photocopy of the inquiry report into the Pulwama terror attack on February 14 last year in which around 40 paramilitary personnel were killed and details of alleged connivance, if any, of the officials, saying that the force could only provide information regarding the violation of the human rights and the corruption cases.

Panipat-based RTI activist P.P. Kapoor, had in two separate RTI applications dated January 9 and 10, sought the photocopy of the inquiry report into the attack, the details of the CRPF officials found guilty of dereliction of duty or anomalies and the ranks and names of those punished. Besides the ranks and the names of the CRPF personnel killed in the attack, Mr. Kapoor also demanded to know the details of the financial assistance and other facilities provided to the families of the deceased. He also asked whether the CRPF officials killed in the attack were accorded the status of “shaheed” (martyr) and, if not, what was the term used for them.

However, the CRPF DG, the Central Public Information Officer, refused to reply to any of the queries citing Para- 24 (1) of Chapter 6 of the Right to Information Act, 2005, which he said exempted the force from providing any information except the matters concerning the human rights violations and corruption.

Mr. Kapoor has now made an appeal to the First Appellate Authority in this case against the denial of information. He has argued that the death of the CRPF personnel amounted to the violation of their human rights and the fact that explosives in large quantities reached Pulwama showed that it involved high-level corruption. Mr. Kapoor demanded that the said information be immediately made public free-of-cost in the larger public interest.

“The attack rocked the conscience of the masses and was an important election issue. It is surprising that the information about the attack is not being made public. Every Indian has the right to know the facts of the case,” he said.