By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 25 Oct: The Uttarakhand Police have registered a case against former Director General of Police BS Sidhu and seven others for purchasing reserve forest land illegally in 2012 and felling 25 Sal trees in the area. The price of the land allegedly purchased by Sidhu is stated to be Rs 1.25 crores. The case registered has been against Sidhu and the then Additional Tehsildar, Shujauddin.
The complainant, Ashutosh Singh, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Mussoorie Forest Division, has filed a complaint against Sidhu alleging that the then DGP had purchased 0.7450 hectares of land which comes under the forest reserve area on the consultation of two Meerut based lawyers Deepak Sharma and Smita Dikshit and in connivance with other accused in 2012 despite the fact that this area was a notified reserved forest area. After the purchase, Sal trees were felled on the land.
Sidhu had got the land registered in his name on 21 May, 2012, by showing a fake Nathuram and some witnesses. The real Nathuram had actually died in 1983. BS Sidhu, together with the then Additional Tehsildar, Sadar, grabbed the land.
It is further alleged that Sidhu had misused the post to put pressure on the forest officials and some employees and had even filed some fake cases against them. A case has been registered against Mahendra Singh, the fake Nathuram, Deepak Sharma, Smita Dixit, Subhash Sharma and Krishna in the case.
