Bengaluru: The state Information Commissioner has written to Director General and Inspector General of Police Om Prakash with regard to murder of RTI activist Vinayak Baliga and has requested the police department to probe into the case and submit a report to the Central Information Commission.

In a letter dated April 7, 2016, State Chief Information Commission L Krishnamurthy has recalled a resolution taken by the Central Information Commission on 13.09.2011, with regard to surge in attack on RTI activists.

The Commission, in the draft resolution underlines the need to take urgent steps by the respective Governments for the safety and protection of the RTI users and states that the government must invoke the relevant penal provisions for the prevention and detection of such heinous crimes.

The Commission states that, if it receives a complaint regarding assault or murder of an information seeker, it will examine the pending RTI applications of the victim and order the departments concerned to publish the requested information suo-motu on their website as per the provisions of law.

The Commission also resolves that it will take proactive steps in ascertaining the status of the investigation/ prosecutions of the cases involving the information seekers and endeavour to have these processes expedited.

Two bike-borne assailants attacked 52-year-old Baliga with lethal weapons on March 21 while he was on his way to a temple. He was said to have been actively pursuing several cases of funds misuse and irregularities in various government departments in Mangaluru.