<p>The activist—43-year-old Ramdas Ghadegavkar— was a local Shiv Sena leader also involved in exposing corruption in PDS and other social activities. 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. <br /><br />The Nanded police have have registered a case of "sudden death", after Ramdas' body was discovered late Friday night in Mondha area, the state police control here said on Sunday. <br />Preliminary post-mortem report revealed excess alcohol in his body, police said. His brother told the police that the RTI activist had left home around 8 am on Friday and never returned.<br /><br />It is not clear whether the political rivalry or his RTI activities was behind the death. The police are investigating the matter.<br /><br />Last month, an RTI activist Amit Jethwa from Gujarat was killed right in front of the Gujarat High Court for exposing illegal mining in the Gir forest. A BJP MP and his nephew from the area are suspects in the murder. Maharashtra itself tops in the killings of whistleblowers with five deaths, including that of Ramdas, this year alone. On the nation-wide scale, it would be the ninth killing of an RTI activist.</p>
<p>The activist—43-year-old Ramdas Ghadegavkar— was a local Shiv Sena leader also involved in exposing corruption in PDS and other social activities. 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. <br /><br />The Nanded police have have registered a case of "sudden death", after Ramdas' body was discovered late Friday night in Mondha area, the state police control here said on Sunday. <br />Preliminary post-mortem report revealed excess alcohol in his body, police said. His brother told the police that the RTI activist had left home around 8 am on Friday and never returned.<br /><br />It is not clear whether the political rivalry or his RTI activities was behind the death. The police are investigating the matter.<br /><br />Last month, an RTI activist Amit Jethwa from Gujarat was killed right in front of the Gujarat High Court for exposing illegal mining in the Gir forest. A BJP MP and his nephew from the area are suspects in the murder. Maharashtra itself tops in the killings of whistleblowers with five deaths, including that of Ramdas, this year alone. On the nation-wide scale, it would be the ninth killing of an RTI activist.</p>
