Activist spoke out against corruption

After a wait of three years, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested two persons in the 2012 broad daylight murder of RTI activist Premkant Jha in Vasai who had set out to expose the corruption in the real estate business. The CBI is the third investigative agency to handle the case after the local police and Maharashtra Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

The arrested accused are Baburao R. Ramanna and Umesh Shankhe. They were produced before a special CBI court and remanded to police custody till January 18. Both accused are private persons engaged in the construction business at Virar and have a prior criminal record. They have murder cases against them apart from the Jha case. In fact, Ramanna is a life-term convict and he was on bail when Jha was murdered.

On February 24, 2012, Jha was shot dead by unidentified accused in Gurudatta Nagar, Virar (east), Mumbai. After the local Virar police and special cell of the local police failed to get a breakthrough, the family of Jha approached the Bombay high court, which handed over the probe to CID.

When CID couldn’t get a breakthrough, the Bombay high court asked the CBI to take over the case on December 9, 2014. The FIR is registered under Section 302 (murder) of IPC and Sections 3 and 25 of Arms Act.

The local police had registered names of 18 persons in FIR. One empty bullet cartridge was recovered from the spot.

“Jha was a member of NGO ‘Bharshtachar-va-Atyachar Virodhi Samiti’ and was filing RTI applications and complaints of illegal constructions in Virar, Mumbai by the builders/developers with the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation and Cidco authorities,” said a CBI official, adding that further probe is on.

“He allegedly developed enmity with a number of builders/developers. Some of the illegal constructions were also demolished by the municipal authorities on the complaints of deceased Jha,” added the officer.