Morung Express News
Dimapur | October 14
One man was forced to apologise for filing an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The incident, which came to light after the apology letter was circulated on social media, happened on October 13 at the New Jalukie village, Peren.
The incident involved a 66 year-old man, Namsilakbe and the Village Council Chairman Union (VCCU), Jalukie valley. The letter, purportedly written and signed by Namsilakbe, tendered apology for “blindly… seeking information under Right to Information Act” and pledged to withdraw the RTI application filed on October 5 at the Rural Development Directorate in Kohima. It was dated October 13.
The apology letter was preceded by a ‘summon call letter’ to the person by the Village Council Chairman Union, Jalukie Valley on October 12. It directed Namsilakbe to appear before the union October 13 at the New Jalukie Council hall “to discuss the matter relating” to the RTI application.
When contacted by The Morung Express on October 14, Namsilakbe said, “I was asked to reach by 11:00 am,” at the New Jalukie Village Council hall.
According to him, he was charged of disrespecting and overriding the authority of the village councils. He was then forced to sign two papers— one blank and a handwritten note. He said that he was harassed till 3:00 pm and made to sign under duress both the papers.
The information sought was related to development works related to Rural Development under the 15th Finance Commission recommendations. The actual content of the application letter could not be accessed however.
Meanwhile, the VCCU, Jalukie Valley denied Namsilakbe’s claim. Liangkebo, Secretary of the VCCU, maintained that Namsilakbe was only called to “discuss.”
He said that Namsilakbe was told that he should have discussed with them (union) if he wished to file RTI application and that filing the application risked the suspension of RD fund flow to the villages. During the supposed discussion at the New Jalukie village council hall, Namsilakbe reportedly claimed that someone else filed the application under his name and later claiming that he was instigated by others.
According to Liangkebo, the information sought was related to installing water tank/pipe at New Jalukie. While claiming that the RTI could have been politically motivated, he further accused Namsilakbe of having doubtful antecedents.
