To
The Additional Director General of Police Date-
13.5.20
Crime Branch, Cuttack
Sub- Request for Crime Branch Inquiry
into brutal killing of Ranjan Kumar
Das, a Dalit and noted RTI activist of Manikpur village under Patkura Police
Station in Kendrapada, Odisha.
Ref. No.- ( 1) FIR filed dt. 11.12.19 by Ranjan Kumar Das in Patkura
Police Station, Kendrapara
(
2) Complaint lodged on 31.1.20 by Ranjan Kumar Das in Mahakalapada police ,
Kendrapara district
(3) FIR filed on 1.2.20 by Balaram Das in
Marshaghai Police station seeking an
inquiry into murder of Ranjan Kumar Das
(4)
FIR filed on 13.3.20 in Patkura Police
station by Lakhmidhar Das, father of deceased Ranjan Kumar Das
(5) FIR
filed on 16.3.20 in Patkura Police Station by Lakhmidhar Das, father of
deceased Ranjan Kumar Das
Dear Sir
I ,
Sri Lakhmidhar Das, Scheduled Caste , aged
about 65 Village- Manikpur,
PS-Patkura, dist-Kendrapara do seek
your intervention
for undertaking Crime Branch investigation and stern action against the
conspirators and perpetrators of brutal murder of my son Ranjan Kumar Das, a noted
RTI activist and anti-corruption activist in
Kendrapada district, Odisha.
1.
As I know, my son Ranjan is a RTI
activist in Kendrapara district. Since
his college career, he was involved in social
activities and rendered voluntary services to the poor, destitute and dalits in the districts
and also fighting for
protection of their rights and entitlements. He was active in RTI campaign in Kendrapara district . He had carried out a number
of RTI sensitive programme to educate the people about RTI Act. He had
personally filed several RTI Applications to different offices and exposed
corruption in construction of RD Road, illegal construction of play ground
in his village, illegal construction of OTDC Building
inside Bhirakanika Sanctuary
under Mahakalapada block, illegal prawn cultivation by private companies, corruption in illegal
allotment of houses under IAY/ PMAY, Biju Pucca Yojana,
Irregularities in Anganwadi Centres.
He had filed several
complaints to State Vigilance,
Cuttack and Lokayukta, Odisha.
2.
On 01.02.2020, in the early morning at 7 am, I
heard from my fellow-villagers about dead body of my son lying on the roadside of Berhuan village under
Marshagahi Police Station. I rushed to
the spot and identified my son’s dead
body and his motor-bike was placed over his upturned upperbody. I
also noticed that hundreds of villagers including family relations, friends and
colleagues had already gathered there around his dead body. I suspected it as a cold-blooded murder of my
son by a gang of miscreants However, my
son-in-law Sri Balaram Das filed an FIR
on the spot and the Inspector-in-charge
of Marshaghai police station registered
the case No. 24/20 (
Annexture-1).
3. Till yet, the police
has not
given us the Post-mortem Report nor
appraised us about progress
of inquiry into murder of my son. We,
the family members suspect nature of the
police and their conspiracy to cover up inquiry as many powerful people are
behind murder of my son. Recently, Balaram Sahu had filed
in the court of District Judge, Kendrapara for
certified copy of the
Post-mortem report and found
that the police has not provided any report.
4. Sir,
It is worth to appraise you that on 11.12.19.,
Ranjan had himself lodged an FIR
in Patkura PS alleging mortal threat to
his life along with abusing slang against his Scheduled Caste identity and RTI
activism hurled by a particular person and his group vide FIR No. 0379 of 2019
under Sections 294/506 of IPC and Sections 3(1)(r), 3(1)(s) and 3(2)(va) of the
SC and ST (PoA) Act 1989 (Annexture-2). But the police did not
take any steps against the culprits.
5.Similarly, Ranjan had also
filed another complaint in Mahakalapada Police Station on 31.1.20 alleging that
Sri Sanjay Rout, village- Shikar under Mahakalapada PS , in his absence
entered his house on 27.1.20. and took away hard disk,
Rs. 15,000.00 and two important files from his house on the plea of
repair of CCTV responding query
of his mother. The police has not registered the case. On same
day, Ranjan Das was murdered and thrown at roadside of Berhuan village. ( News paper cutting attached as Annex-3).
6. I
want it to draw your attention that
earlier my son Ranjan had filed
complaint dt. 15.1.2014 in Marshaghai Police station against
the accused Bidyadhar Das having
Case No. 17/14 ps-341,223,294,379,506/34
&sc st.. On 14.2.2008, he had also filed FIR against
the same accused in Patkura
Police station ( Case No.-25/08-ipc-294,341.323379,506/34 & sc,st). He
had also filed
another complaint dt. 5/10/2014 in Patkura Police station having Case no-183/14-ipc-341,294,323,379,506/34 sc,st..
The police had not taken any step to conduct
proper inquiry and legal action
against the accused.
7. Sir, Ranjan had appraised me and
my wife several times about life threats
from contractors and Mafias of
the area, as he was exposing
corruption and
irregularities in
development work executed by them. As I recall, in 2014, during days
of Dasehara, he was severely
attacked and mercilessly beaten
by the village
goons. The village people had rescued him and accordingly FIR was lodged in Patakura police station against
four persons. But the police did not take any steps. Before his murder, Ranjan had filed
RTI applications in the office of BDO seeking information about details of playground work
undertaken under NREGA scheme in
our village Manikpur, details of
construction of Stadium in front of UCO Bank
and allotment of 3 houses to Bibek Jena
in Talasanga Gram panchayat under Biju Pucca Ghara yojana.
The villagers involved
in playground construction and
Bibek Jena have threatened my
son publicly to withdraw RTI applications. I suspect that
they are behind murder of my son.
8.On
10.3.20, day of Holy, Trilochan Barik, anti-social of Talasanga village of Talasanga GP publicly said
that , we had murdered Ranjan
Das and
will murder another two
of our village. A video containing his statement got viral
which is attached as annex-4. On
13.3.20, I filed FIR in Patkura police
station against Trilochan Barik alleging
his involvement in murder of my
son. The police has not yet registered the case.
9. On
15.3.20 at around 10.15 pm, Bibek Jena
of Manikpur village along with 5
goons shouted in front of my home using slang languages and
casteist remarks against me and
my wife. When I came out from the house, he said that
we had targeted
to murder your son and succeeded. He threatened me to withdraw the case
otherwise you will be murdered.
On 16.3.20.,
I filed FIR in Patkura police station against him. Though the police
registered my FIR, but no inquiry
had been conducted so far. ( FIR attached as Annexture-5)
10.
Amidst
threats of insecurity
to me and my wife who is a paralysis
patients , we are looking for
justice and pursuing the
matter with SP, and SDPO, Kendrapara, IIC, Patkura police
station and IIC, Marshaghai police
station , but in vain . The police
neither conducts any
inquiry nor appraises
us about any development of inquiry. We have lost
our faith on Kendrapara
police to get any justice. ( FIR attached
as annexture-6)
So, I
earnestly appeal you for crime branch
inquiry into murder of my
son, take legal action against all
culprits involved in this
murder case and give me justice.
Thanking You
Yours Sincerely,
Laxmidhar Das, M- 9668554013
Srikant Pakal
Pratap Mohanty, RTI Activist,
Marshaghai, Kendrapara , M-9040222335
Manornaj Jena, Social Activist,
Derabishi Block, Kendrapara
Jitendra Sahu, RTI Activist
Pradip Pradhan,
M-9937843482
