14 March,2017 11:10 AM IST | | A Correspondent
Company officials say the RTI activist is merely trying to malign them with allegations that he was attacked for investigating into one of their projects
Vinod Jain was attacked on his back with a sharp object Pics/Rajesh Gupta
A day after an RTI activist alleged that he was attacked at the behest of a developer because he launched an RTI investigation into one of their projects, the developer has now hit back with a police complaint against him, alleging that he was trying to malign the company's image with false claims.
RTI activist Vinod Jain was attacked by two unidentified bike riders on Friday morning, while he was on his way to Byculla. Jain had alleged that he was attacked because he filed an RTI application regarding the multi-storey tower, One Avighna Park, at Currey Road.
'Defamation'
Now, Nish Developers, a partner in the construction of One Avighna Park, has filed a complaint against Jain.
"Vinod Jain is deliberately trying to malign the image of Nish Developers. The company has nothing to do with the attack, he is hatching a conspiracy," said a statement given by Vishwas Chavhan, site supervisor for Nish Developers.
A non-cognisable complaint (NC) has been filed against Jain under IPC Sections 500 (defamation) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
The company also claimed that the activist has been booked by cops for extortion and threatening in the past. "Jain had earlier tried to extort money by threatening us; a case was also filed against him and his associates at Worli police station on January 3, 2016. He is out on anticipatory bail granted by court. Kherwadi Police has also filed a B summary report against Vinod Jain for filing a false complaint against developers," said Chavhan.
Activist denies it
The activist denied these allegations and said it was the company officials' attempt to hide their wrongdoing. "The developers are making allegation against me just to hide their wrongdoing. They must provide proof if they claim I have tried to extort money from them. These allegations are baseless, and that's why the court granted me bail. The NC filed by the developer is just an attempt to defend themselves."
