Vijay Kumbhar was inspecting files regarding a construction site

Even as the murder of Right to Information activist Satish Shetty remains unresolved, whistleblowers continue to face threats in Maharashtra.

A Pune-based activist, Vijay Kumbhar, was allegedly threatened by Congress corporator Kailas Gaikwad as he attempted to inspect files pertaining to a construction site in the Aundh-Pimple Saudagar area at the Pune Municipal Corporation office earlier in the week. He had tried to gather information under Section 4 (1) of the RTI Act, 2005, called the “proactive disclosure” section.

Mr. Gaikwad, brother of Pune Mayor Dattatrey Gaikwad, stormed in and allegedly threatened Mr. Kumbhar in front of municipal officials for “poking his nose” into affairs not of his concern. Despite Mr. Kumbhar calmly telling him that he was a resident of the neighbourhood where the construction was coming up, Mr. Gaikwad said it was his project and the activist would have to bear the consequences if he attempted to stall it.

Mr. Kumbhar sent a complaint to Police Commissioner Satish Mathur about the corporator’s threat. The corporator said he had recanted the threat and he was “unaware that Mr. Kumbhar was an RTI activist.”