By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 6 Mar: Very often one saw him in and around the Vidhan Sabha in Dehradun. Sometimes, he was even seen shopping at a trade fair at the Parade Ground. Wherever he was seen, Rahi always offered a friendly smile. Those were the early years after Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh in the year 2000. He also participated actively in the statehood movement.
After 2-3 years working with the Statesman, a national daily, during which he lived in a densely populated locality in Dehradun, Rahi suddenly disappeared. For some years, he was not seen in Dehradun. His stories had also stopped appearing in the Statesman.
Some people said he had gone underground till he was arrested from Udham Singh Nagar in Kumaon region on the charges of sedition and Maoist activities. He was later acquitted in 2022 by the district court of Prem Singh Khimal after finding no evidence against him. It was alleged that Rahi was kidnapped from Dehradun before being taken to Udham Singh Nagar where police claimed he was arrested in some Maoist activities.
Rahi’s daughter Shikha has worked with top Bollywood actor/director Aamir Khan. She was involved in the movie “Tare Zamin Par”.
Shikha in her different interviews has denied her father’s involvement in any seditious activities and said he was only active in the human rights activities.
After his arrest in 2007 by the Uttarakhand police, Rahi was granted bail in 2012. Rahi went back to his home state, Maharashtra, where the police again arrested him in some other case in 2013. Now after his acquittal by the Bombay High Court on Tuesday, Rahi can hope to breathe the fresh air of freedom again.
