Belagavi: Two RTI activists caught on tape demanding bribe from MLA's kin

Belagavi: Two RTI activists were caught red handed while trying to blackmail Belagavi MLA Feroz Sait’s son Faizan Sait and his partner Qais Noorani for allegedly building an apartment at Jadhav Nagar over age old nalas (drains).

One of activists, Shankar Amashi, has been caught on tape, secretly recorded by Faizan and Qais at their office, demanding money to withdraw the RTI papers, which he filed seeking information about the existence of nalas at the construction site. In the tape Amashi discusses the issue with Qais and demands money to keep his mouth shut. Amashi claims he already got an offer of Rs 25 lakh from the 'rivals' of MLA Sait and another Rs 40 lakh offer from BJP leaders who he said were ready to pay him if he managed to get the apartment project stalled.

Later, Amashi asks Qais to quickly decide on how much he can offer and demands a minimum of Rs 40 lakh.

According to Faizan, the two RTI activists have been harassing ahim since January this year, claiming that they got all the official documents to prove that his apartment was being illegally built on an old nala.

Unable to bear with the persistent blackmailing, Faizan and Qais lodged a complaint with the local police against the two.

In their complaint they stated that the two RTI activists first met them at the office of Belagavi Urban Development Authority (BUDA) and threatened to file RTI cases against his apartment project.

They threatened to lodge a complaint with the authorities concerned and provide information gathered under RTI. They also threatened to bring it to the notice of media houses.

They also submitted the video tape to the police along with the complaint.