IMPHAL, January 18: ‘RTI is manipulated in Manipur’, alleged five RTI applicants who are also Asst. Sub-Inspector aspirants.
‘The State Home Department have tactically delayed and denied information sought under RTI since 12 of March 2014’.
“RTI Act is reduced to a meaningless and worthless Act in Manipur as the State Home Department has refused information for almost two years despite intervention of the High Court Manipur”, AK Tennyson, one of the applicants alleged during a press meet at Manipur Press Club today.
The five applicant (ASI aspirant) sought information under RTI from the State Home Department regarding their answer scripts for the recruitment of ASI on 12 of March 2014 following the declaration of results on March 3, 2014.
In this regard, the High Court of Manipur had also directed the State Chief Information Commissioner to furnish the information yet it has not been adhered to till date, he said.
However in the response letter signed by Principal Secretary Home Dr J Suresh Babu dated June 3, 2014, the sought information were denied citing that “RTI is exempted for Police Department under sub-section 4 of the section 24 of the Act” even though the same Act clearly states that information related to allegation pertaining to
Corruption and Human Rights Violation are not exempted, he continued.
The State official tried to befool us, said one of the applicants.
We did not give up on our endeavor to expose corruption in recruitment and after running from post to pillar, the State Chief Information Commission on September 29, 2015 recommended the Home Department to reply within 30 days, he said.
However even after three months the State Home Department remains silent making a mockery of the RTI Act in Manipur, he added.