Slain cult leader filed RTI on prez ID

Mathura violence mastermind Ram Briksh Yadav, known for his strange demands, had filed an RTI application to know if the president had an identity card.  

Yadav was the leader of Swadhin Bharat Vidhik Satyagrah, an outfit claiming allegiance to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. Members of his group had encroached Jawahar Park in Mathura for over two years. Clashes erupted on June 2 when police tried to evict the illegal occupants. As many as 29 people, including Yadav, were killed in the incident.

Through his RTI plea, filed with the president's secretariat on May 30, 2015, Yadav wanted a certified copy of the identity card, if issued, to the first citizen of “Sovereign Bharat”. He also wanted direct election of the president and prime minister and abolishing of the Indian currency.

The information officer replied to the application on June 10, 2015. But Yadav was not satisfied with the response and appealed before the Central Information Commission (CIC).

However, he was killed before the next hearing, scheduled for June 15, 2016. The officers informed the transparency panel that a detailed response had been sent to the applicant. Regarding Yadav’s query on the currency, panel members said the matter was transferred to the joint secretary, banking division, department of financial services, New Delhi.

Information Commissioner Radha Krishna Mathur disposed of Yadav's appeal, saying the steps taken by the officers in dealing with the RTI application were satisfactory.

Interestingly, Yadav, in his appeal before the CIC, had unabashedly given his address as Swadhin Bharat Vidhik Satyagrah, Jawahar Bagh, Mathura.