MP Govt constitutes committee to probe tigers death in Panna

Business Standard: Bhopal: Saturday, June 09, 2012.

In a shift of stand, the Madhya Pradesh government has declined to order a CBI probe and instead formed a committee to investigate into the alleged disappearance and poaching of wild cats from Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR).

Official sources said the state government has put Inspector General of Police of Sagar Range and Director, PTR in the committee constituted by Madhya Pradesh Forest Department.

According to the information received in response to an RTI query, the then Additional Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh Government M K Roy has recommended a CBI probe to look into poaching and disappearance of tigers from the sanctuary.

"There have been many cases of poaching and disappearance of tigers in the last 5-10 years from PTR.

"The state government wants the CBI to probe the conspiracy in the disappearance of tigers from PTR and involvement of international smugglers in it. All such cases where challans have not been submitted should also be incorporated in it (probe)", Roy, who is now the chairman of Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE), has said in his letter written in January last year.

After a year of inter-departmental deliberations, the Home Department has constituted a committee apparently rejecting the recommendations for a CBI probe made by the former top officer of the forest department.

"The Home Department has formed a committee to look into tigers death overruling the then Additional Chief Secretary of the Forest Department. They did not send the recommendations for a CBI probe to the Centre. It is a grave injustice", asserted wild life activist Ajay Dubey, who has accessed Roy's letter through RTI.

Various social activists and wildlife experts had written to both the state and central governments to order a CBI enquiry into cases of tiger death in PTR.

When contacted Madhya Pradesh Forest Minister Sartaj Singh said, "I have given my proposal (for a CBI enquiry). The decision (to form a committee) is taken by another department (Home)".

As per the norms, the decision to constitute a CBI enquiry is taken by the Department of Personnel of training (DoPT), a Central Government nodal agency in Delhi, on the recommendation of the state government's Home Department. (MORE)