J & K: Home Department Ignorant about Panchayat Members killed by Militants !

Callousness Exposed !

Jammu, 10/July/2015: What may be termed as ineptness of Jammu and Kashmir Home Department or helplessness that it does not have any information about details of killings of Panchayat members but the department  has to  rely on the Police Department even to find out the detail of compensations awarded to the next kin of deceased Panchayat members.

The department has admitted that the information is not available with it. The Jammu and Kashmir Home department while forwarding an RTI application of information seeker to the Police Headquarters, noted that they have received an RTI application on the above subject  which is transferred to them (PHQ) in terms of section 6(3) of J & K RTI Act 2009 for further necessary action, under an intimation to their office as the same is not available with them and pertains more closely to PHQ.

The letter  of the Home department has come as a response to  the application under RTI act by activist Raman Sharma where the information seeker had asked for details about the  total number of Panches, Sarpacnhes killed in Jammu and Kashmir in terror related incidents during the period May-2011 to till date, their particulars and the compensation awarded to the family members of the martyred Panchayat members. In his RTI application dated 08/06/15, the applicant had also asked for the detail of any special probe ordered to find out the persons or group behind these killings.

Sarib Sahran, Under Secretary cum Public Information Officer of the home department addressing a letter to PIO of the Police Headquarters at Srinagar vide his office letter no. Home/GB/68/2015/2521 dated 22/06/2015 and copied to information seeker has also regretted for the delay in forwarding the letter citing the reason of holidays and tours. As stipulated period under which the RTI application should have been transferred to the PHQ is 5 days but in the present case, the Home department instead took 10 days for doing the same. Expressing shock over the response of the Home Department, information seeker Sharma said though apart from minor delay the PIO has done his job as per the provisions of the RTI act but the callousness of the state home department is exposed otherwise, as it does not have such basic and sensitive data about number of Panchayat members killed and any compensation awarded or not.

Published in Early Times, State Times, Greater Kashmir, JK Newspoint and other local dailies of the state on 11/07/2015.

LETTER FROM HOME DEPARTMENT

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RTI APPLICATION

STATE TMES,