The Right To Information (RTI) Act is a powerful tool for the common man, and it has helped to expose all kinds of fraud. But it can also prove to be a dangerous tool in the hands of the wrong person, as was recently demonstrated by three crooks who posed as RTI activists and tried to extort the owner of a building.

A report in this paper stated that the trio was exerting pressure on a builder and trying to extort Rs 1 lakh from him, claiming they had information that two banquet halls in the building were illegal. They were brazen enough to enter the building and demand money. They were arrested, however, as people realised that they were frauds.