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A Right to Information activist who was in the forefront in exposing corruption in Public Distribution System, foodgrain and fuel distribution in the Marathwada region has been found dead in Nanded.
The circumstances behind how 43-year-old Ramdas Ghadegavkar, a local Shiv Sena leader, died is shrouded in mystery. The death of Ramdas, who used the RTI Act, adds another name in the victim list of whistleblowers in the country.
The Shivajinagar police in Nanded, about 650 km from Mumbai, have registered a case of "sudden death", after Ramdas' body was discovered late Friday night in Mondha area, police said today.
Preliminary post mortem report revealed excess alcohol in his body, police said. His brother has informed police that the RTI activist had left home at around 8 am on Friday.
Ramdas's death comes just weeks after the murder of RTI activist Amit Jethwa from Gujarat who was killed for exposing illegal mining in the Gir forest region.
Jethwa was shot dead from a close range near the Gujarat high court on July 20 after he filed a public interest litigation against illegal mining.
Ramdas was active in uncovering corruption in PDS, foodgrain and fuel distribution by using RTI Act. He was a local Shiv Sena leader in Nanded and the head of the district Milk Sellers Association.
He had exposed the thriving sand mafia in the region through the RTI Act. His complaint had led the district administration to initiate action on the issue.
Meanwhile, Sena district president Hemant Patil met senior police officials and demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into the mysterious death of Ramdas.