Medha Patkar booked over alleged misuse of funds for 'anti-national activity', probe on

In a huge development, social activist and the founder of the 'Narmada Bachao' movement, Medha Patkar has been booked under section 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for allegedly misusing the funds collected in name of education of the tribal children. Notably, an FIR has been filed in Madhya Pradesh's Barwani against Medha Patkar and 11 others pertaining to the misuse of the funds.

The complainant has been registered against 12 people including social activist Medha Patkar, the trustee of the Narmada Navnirmaan Abhiyan trust for cheating. According to the FIR registered in Barwani, the plaintiff Pritam Raj has accused Patkar of allegedly grabbing over Rs 13 crore in the name of education of tribal children. The complainant further noted that they don’t have the accounts of all the money raised from 2007 to 2022 for the tribal poor and their education, accusing the misuse of the funds.

"Being the first trustee, Medha Patkar along with her other known and unknown associates has misled the public on a large scale with the view that she is a dedicated social worker," a statement from the FIR read. Speaking about the misused funds, the FIR adds, "The amount has clearly been misused by them on some other political/national anti-national agenda."

Medha Patkar booked for cheating

According to the FIR, the founder of the "Narmada Bachao Andolan", Medha Patkar raised the concerned amount of over Rs 13 crore in the name of a trust named Narmada Navnirman Abhiyan. She has been accused of using funding in the name of education to create an atmosphere against the government.

The other accused in the FIR has been identified as Praveen Rumi Jahangir, Vijaya Chauhan, Kailash Avashya, Mohan Patidar, Ashish Mandaloyi, Sanjay Joshi and others.