MEGHALAYA RTI ACTIVIST FOUND MURDERED

A right-to-information activist who was working to expose alleged misuse of public funds in Meghalaya was found dead. Poipynhun Majaw had been filing applications under the Right to Information (RTI) Act to check alleged corruption in public projects in Meghalaya's Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council. His body was found near a bridge in Khliehriat, the district headquarters of East Jaintia Hills, 120 kilometres from Shillong. He was also the president of Jaintia Youth Federation.

Police said he was last seen riding a motorcycle near the East Jaintia Hills deputy commissioner's office on Monday night. A wrench was found next to the body. Preliminary inquest suggests the victim was hit on the head leading to his death.

Recently, using replies he got from the authorities under using the RTI route, he had alleged that cement firms have been mining in the area without permission from the council. East Jaintia Hills has over a dozen cement plants.