Divisional forest official suspended in Kolhu Chaur case reinstated

DEHRADUN :

Mayank Shekhar Jha

,

divisional forest official

of

Lansdowne Forest Division

who had been suspended in the Kolhu Chaur incident involving industrialist

Samir Thapar

and 15 others, has been reinstated by the state chief secretary after just under a month of suspension. The chief secretary said that the report of the incident found that Jha had not been involved in dereliction of duty and therefore he was being reinstated.

Principal chief conservator of forests, Rajender Mahanan said that DFO was given clean chit. "DFO Mayank Jha is a good officer who has done lot of work for his forest division. In the

Kolhu Chaur case

, we could not find anything against him," he said, adding that suspension orders have been given against officials in many matters earlier also without charges proved against them.

The investigative team of senior forest officials consisting of chief conservator of forests and additional forest secretary had found the DFO guilty of letting the Samir Thapar and his friends trespass into forest land with arms and liquor. Later several employees had gone on protest against the DFO's suspension. Meanwhile all the accused were given bail by the high court.

Mayank Jha did not respond to the calls made by TOI for his version.