Wednesday, 26 October 2022 | PNS | Dehradun
Dehradun police have registered an FIR against the State’s former director general of police BS Sidhu and seven others for alleged illegal purchase of reserved forest land in 2012 and the felling of 25 Sal trees in 2013 in the Rajpur area of Dehradun.
The officials said that the Forest department had submitted a proposal to the State government about a week ago to file an FIR against Sidhu. After the State government’s approval, the Forest department finally filed an FIR against eight people including the ex-DGP in Rajpur police station. The seven others who have been named in the FIR are Mahendra Singh, Nathu Ram, Deepak Sharma, Smita Dikshit, Subhash Sharma, Krishna and the then revenue officer, Shujauddin.
The police have filed complaint against them under several sections including section 166 (public servant disobeying law with intent to cause injury to any person), 167 (public servant framing an incorrect document with intent to cause injury), 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) and 120-B (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. In a March 2013 report, the Mussoorie forest division had reportedly mentioned the illegal felling of Sal trees on the land owned by the ex-DGP at Virgirwali area near Old Mussoorie Road in Rajpur Range. The officials informed that Sidhu had claimed that a man identified as Nathu Ram had allegedly sold the land to him, as per the report.
However, when the department conducted an inquiry, it was revealed that the land was purchased on November, 2012 as per the record while Nathu Ram had been dead since 1983. Sidhu had allegedly purchased a reserve forest land for Rs 1.25 crore in 2012 and 25 Sal trees were felled on the same land in 2013.
The report had accused the DGP of being involved in illegal purchase of the land and felling of the trees. He had also allegedly harassed and pressured some officials misusing his position and power at that time. It is pertinent to mention here that the National Green Tribunal had also imposed a penalty on the former DGP in August 2018 for illegally felling the trees.
