Shehla Masood (1973–2011) was an Indian environmentalist, wildlife and

Right to Information The Right to Information (RTI) is an act of the Parliament of India which sets out the rules and procedures regarding citizens' right to information. It replaced the former Freedom of Information Act, 2002. Under the provisions of RTI Act, an ...

activist. She was shot dead on 16 August 2011 in front of her house in

Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It ...

while she was sitting in her car, by three persons who were hired by a local female interior designer. Crime Patrol Dial 100 aired episode 735 based on the case.Slain RTI activist Shehla Masood's last tweets
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Social activist

Masood was an activist working primarily on wildlife conservation, and also supported other causes like good governance, RTI Act, Police reforms, environment, women's rights & issues and transparency. She sat on a fast in support of

Anna Hazare Kisan Baburao "Anna" Hazare (; born 15 June 1937) is an Indian social activist who led movements to promote rural development, increase government transparency, and investigate and punish corruption in public life. In addition to organising an ...

's ''India Against Corruption'' campaign. She was actively involved in raising issues related to the deaths of tigers in the various sanctuaries of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital city, capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar, and Rewa, India, Rewa being the othe ...

. Shehla herself was working for the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Trust, organising events for them from Srinagar to Kolkata to Delhi. She had asked for details about Narmada Samagraha, an NGO backed by the BJP Rajya Sabha MP. She was about to leave for Boat Club in

to join the anti-government protest to bring the

Jan Lokpal Bill The Jan Lokpal Bill, also referred to as the Citizen's Ombudsman Bill, was a bill drawn up by civil society activists in India seeking the appointment of a Jan Lokpal, an independent body to investigate corruption cases and complete the investi ...

when she was killed. She co-founded RTI Anonymous, a service for whistle blowers for filing anonymous Right to Information (RTI) Applications with Indian Government departments without getting victimised, with her friends just a few days before her death. Shehla Masood was posthumously awarded the award for her relentless effort under the category, 'Crusade Against Corruption'.

Professional life

She was the secretary of NGO ''Udai'' and was the CEO of a company called 'Miracles' which was involved in "Events and Media related services", according to he
public Linked profile
NGO Udai was created in 2004, it recently ventured into tiger and forest conservation.

Assassination

Masood was constantly living under threat, as revealed by her in an interview before she was shot dead. On 16 August 2011 at around 11:19 AM, she was shot by an unidentified assailant from point blank range. Masood was about to leave in her car when she was shot in the driver's seat. According to Police, the motive of the killing remains unknown. However, as per media, the possible cause could be her

RTI RTI or Rti may refer to: Broadcasters * Radiodiffusion Television Ivoirienne, state broadcaster of Ivory Coast * Radio Taiwan International, a radio station in Taiwan * Reti Televisive Italiane, an Italian broadcaster and subsidiary of Media ...

activities and for protesting illegal diamond mining done by

Rio Tinto Rio Tinto, meaning "red river", may refer to: Businesses * Rio Tinto (corporation), an Anglo-Australian multinational mining and resources corporation ** Rio Tinto Alcan, based in Canada ** Rio Tinto Borax in America *** Rio Tinto Borax Mine, ...

in connivance with government officers and fighting to save tigers, leopards and forests, who were killed for their skins in connivance with forest officersCourageous Shehla met crusader’s fate
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/ref> In an indication of the seriousness of this high-profile murder, for which no arrests were made in the initial days, the Government of

transferred the case to the

Central Bureau of Investigation The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and governme ...

. The CBI called a forensic team headed by Professor T D Dogra and Rajinder Singh, Director CFSL Delhi. On 28 February 2012

claims to have cracked the case and arrested a Bhopal-based interior designer Mrs Zahida Parvez and three accomplices who were hired to kill Masood. The interior designer's employee and friend who presumably had information about the murder plan was arrested on 2 March 2012. The interior designer had given the contract to Bhopal-based criminal Saqib 'Danger', known for his connections with the local BJP party in Madhya Pradesh, who further contracted it to Tabish (his cousin) based in Kanpur. The vehicle used in the getaway has been found. One of the accused arrested named Irfan had said that he did not shoot Masood but his colleague Shanu did. However, further investigation revealed when cousin of Bhopal builder Saqib 'Danger' Tabish was arrested that Shanu did not shoot Masood it was Irfan who did. Zahida and Irfan have recorded their statements in front of the CBI Magistrate. Meanwhile, the murder weapon has been found and has been sent for forensic testing. The motive behind the murder as pointed by the CBI is Zahida was obsessed and very close with a Bhopal BJP

LA Dhruv Narayan Singh LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on Figure 8 ( ...

Zahida was very disturbed with the closeness of Shehla Masood and BJP MLA

Zahida decided to eliminate Masood. Some of the diary contents recovered by the CBI from Zahida's office reveal this motive. Nothing in support of the assumption has been found. Polygraph tests are being conducted on few accused and the MLA however results are yet to be known. Later CBI gives clean chit to BJP MLA Dhruv Narayan Singh due to lack of evidence against hi

Trial

On 28 January 2017, CBI court in Bhopal convicted four people for murder and criminal conspiracy for the murder of Masood. Another accused was pardoned because he turned approver.

Awards

Masood was posthumously awarded with the SR Jindal “Crusade Against Corruption”

References

External links

Anna Supporter and RTI activist Shehla Masood shot dead in BhopalWhat really happened to Shehla Masood?
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Masood, Shehla Social workers Assassinated Indian people People murdered in India 2011 deaths Writers from Bhopal Deaths by firearm in India Indian environmentalists 1973 births Indian whistleblowers Environmental killings Women writers from Madhya Pradesh 20th-century Indian women writers 20th-century Indian educators Indian women environmentalists Activists from Madhya Pradesh Indian women activists 20th-century Indian non-fiction writers Social workers from Madhya Pradesh Women educators from Madhya Pradesh Educators from Madhya Pradesh 20th-century women educators