Shehla Masood: Difference between revisions

'''Shehla Masood''' (1973–2011) was an Indian environmentalist, wildlife and [[Right to Information Act, 2005|Right to Information]] activist. She was shot dead around 11:19 AM on 16 August 2011 in front of her house in [[Bhopal]] 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.<ref name=a>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120302020548/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/slain-rti-activist-shehla-masoods-last-tweets/176137-3.html Slain RTI activist Shehla Masood's last tweets]</ref><ref name=b>[http://www.moneylife.in/article/rti-activist-shehla-masood-shot-dead-in-broad-daylight-on-way-to-rally-for-anna-hazare/18973.html RTI activist Shehla Masood shot dead in broad daylight on way to rally for Anna Hazare]</ref>

Masood was an activist working primarily on wildlife conservation, and also supported other causes like good governance, [[Right to Information Act, 2005|RTI Act]], Police reforms, environment, women's rights & issues and transparency. She sat on a fast in support of [[Anna Hazare]]'s [[2011 Indian anti-corruption movement|''India Against Corruption'']] campaign. She was actively involved in raising issues related to the deaths of tigers in the various sanctuaries of [[Madhya Pradesh]]. Shehla herself was working for the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Trust, organising events for them from Srinagar to Kolkata to Delhi.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/shehla-sought-rti-on-bjp-mps-rss-backed-trust/181025-3.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017122019/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/shehla-sought-rti-on-bjp-mps-rss-backed-trust/181025-3.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 October 2012 |title=Shehla sought RTI on BJP MPs, RSS backed trust – India News |publisher=[[IBNLive]] |date=3 September 2011 |accessdate=15 September 2012}}</ref> 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 [[Bhopal]] to join the [[2011 Indian anti-corruption movement|anti-government protest]] to bring the [[Jan Lokpal Bill]] when she was killed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/shehlamasood|title=Shehlamasood|publisher=Twitter|accessdate=15 September 2012}}</ref> She co-founded RTI Anonymous,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://getup4change.org/rti |title=RTI Anonymous &#124; File Anonymous Right to Information Applications in India |publisher=Getup4change.org |date= |accessdate=15 September 2012}}</ref> 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.<ref>[http://dekhobhopal.com/transparent-india/shehla-masood-the-soldier-of-truth/ Shehla Masood: The Soldier of Truth]{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Shehla Masood was posthumously awarded the award for her relentless effort under the category, 'Crusade Against Corruption'.