RTI activist shot dead, police still clueless

RTI activist shot dead, police still clueless

Bhopal. August 17, 2011. 06.11 AM  IST : In a shocking incident in Bhopal on Tuesday morning an RTI activist and a great supporter of Anna Hazare movement, Ms. Shehla Masood was shot dead and the police is still groping in the dark.

Shehla Masood, had emerged in the past few years as a strong campaigner against corruption in Madhya Pradesh. She had become an eyesore for the corrupt politician and bureaucrats in Bhopal. Currently, a senior officer of the M.P.Police, illegal mining and malpractice in the state’s wildlife conservation were at her target. She has been raising serious questions regarding several tiger deaths in the state.

The 35 year old Model turned activist Shehla did not make a family and devoted herself to the social causes. At around Tuesday morning, before leaving for the protest venue at Boat Club organized in support of Anna Hazare, she updated her facebook account with this message ‘ Gandhi “the purpose of civil resistance is provocation”. Anna has succeeded in provoking the Govt and the Opposition. Hope he wins us freedom from corruption. Meet at 2 pm Boat Club Bhopal.’

Soon after she came out to proceed for the protest venue from her house at Koh-e-Fiza locality.  She took the driver’s seat at her Santro car but could never start. She was shot at by hitherto unknown killer at point blank range.

Forensic experts, curiously, have given a new twist to the murder by talking of a possible suicide case. Dr. D.S. Badkul , Director Medico-Legal Institute at Bhopal after post mortem of the body has raised the issue. ‘Her car was shut from all sides and she was shot from the front’ he says.

According to a PTI report , ‘ police could not recover any weapon from the murder site or inside the car to establish that it was a suicide case. The bullet that was recovered from Masood’s neck has been sent for examination, said police.