RTI activist harassed, wants to kill himself

New Delhi: “I don’t know next time when you will call I, will be alive to answer it. The kind of harassment my family and I have been undergoing can’t be explained. Because of a few uncouth men, including the police, I have been forced to leave my house and live in somewhere else,” claimed Raj Hans Bansal, a well-known whistleblower.

The RTI activist has filed over 15,000 pleas in last 23 years. A resident of Rohini, Mr Bansal not only brought in light the irregularities in Asha Kiran Home but also exposed the jaggedness carried out in Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital. But, the man who helped hundreds of people to get justice, is himself barred from it.

Speaking to this newspaper, Mr Bansal said that trouble began when his wife, Triveni, fell ill and became bed-ridden. As the expenses shot up, Mr. Bansal was rendered cashless and had to ask friends to loan him some money. “After my expenses shot the ceiling, I had no other option then to take it on credit. I asked my friend, who then suggested me a name of a person who gives money on credit with interest. I took `30, 000 and returned the same with interest. However, the creditor is threatening me and trying to extort Rs 2.50 lakh from me.”

He further said, “I have so far given 20 complaints to the L-G office, PMO and the Delhi police in the last two months regarding the threats, but there is no one to hear our pleas. Finally, my wife Triveni has written to the L-G and to the police commissioner to permit us to commit suicide.” Mr Bansal claimed he was also harassed when the family decided to sell their house.