Odisha info panel asks police to probe into alleged bribe demand by an RTI applicant

Bhubaneswar, Jan 6 (PTI) The Odisha Information Commission (OIC) has directed the state police to conduct an enquiry into allegations of bribery involving an RTI applicant.

The Registrar of the Commission has written a letter in this regard to the Director General of Police and suggested an investigation.

“The Commission issued such an order after receiving a complaint along with a video clip, wherein an RTI applicant, namely Tankadhar Sahu of Bolangir district, allegedly seen demanding illegal gratification from Public Information Officers (PIOs) for withdrawing his RTI complaints,” a statement issued by the OIC said.

It was observed that the applicant had filed hundreds of RTI applications against various government departments, many of which are at different stages of adjudication before the Commission, the statement said.

It said that further examination revealed that the applicant had been frequently camping in Bhubaneswar and allegedly demanding bribes from PIOs and First Appellate Authorities attending hearings before the Odisha Information Commission.

The statement alleged that he adopted a method of seeking adjournments during hearings and, upon receipt of illegal gratification, withdrawing the cases.

The matter was placed before a full bench of the Commission, which decided to refer the matter to the police for enquiry, along with the video clip and related materials as evidence.

The Commission has also decided to keep all cases filed by the applicant pending till completion of the police enquiry.

The panel also directed all PIOs and First Appellate Authorities to keep the cases filed by the applicant pending and to identify other instances, if any, where provisions of the Right to Information Act, 2005 have allegedly been misused. PTI AAM NN