Bail plea of JCT Mills chief rejected

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 3

The court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kotdwar, today rejected the bail application of sixteen persons, including JCT Mills chairman Samir Thapar and industrialist Jayant Nanda, who were arrested by the police for forest trespass, possessing illegal arms and ammunition on Sunday. They were apparently celebrating New Year illegally.

The accused were booked under Section 26 of Forest Conservation Act for trespassing reserve forest area and staying inside the Kolhuchaur forest guest house in the Lansdowne forest division without permission. A Germany-made 300 bore automatic rifle, 23 live cartridges, expensive telescopes and 167 bottles of foreign liquor were recovered. Meat, including some uncooked, was also seized.

Since the accused include Samir Thapar, who is the chairman of JCT Mills, and Jayant Nanda, the arrests created furore in the Forest Department that ordered a high-level inquiry.

Meanwhile, the Forest Department, in a damage control exercise, suspended Mayank Shekar Jha, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Lansdowne forest division. However, forest employees’ associations have expressed resentment over Jha’s suspension, describing him an honest and sincere officer.

Forest staff associations held an emergency meeting in Kotdwar wherein they threatened to go on strike if the suspension was not revoked at the earliest. Such an incident can’t occur without the connivance of forest officials, say sources.

Meanwhile, wildlife conservationist and Union Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi has lauded Pauri SSP Mukhtar Mohsin for taking a prompt action against “poachers”.

“I am happy that you have taken a firm step to end trespassing and poaching in the forests of Uttarkhand. By your prompt action, you have not only brought habitual offenders to book but also prevented poaching of wildlife,” Gandhi said in her letter to the Pauri SSP.