The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has filed a chargesheet against former Uttarakhand Director General of Police (DGP) BS Sidhu and former Additional Tehsildar Shujauddin Siddiqui in connection with the illegal transfer and occupation of forest land in Veer Girwali, Rajpur (Dehradun). The case, which had remained unresolved for over a decade, involves alleged forgery of land documents to grab government-owned forest land.
Illegal Possession of Forest Land Using Forged Documents
According to the SIT, BS Sidhu, along with other accused individuals, used forged documents to illegally occupy the forest land and get it registered in his name. Interestingly, the case was initially filed in 2013 by one Natthuram, who was later found to be complicit, having already sold the disputed land to a third party before lodging the complaint.
How the Forest Land Scam Was Exposed
In October 2022, then DFO of Mussoorie Forest Division, Ashutosh Singh, filed a complaint at Rajpur police station, stating that certain officials had used fake documents to transfer forest land into private ownership and tampered with revenue records to make it appear legal.
Initial investigations revealed that Sidhu, Natthuram, Deepak Sharma, Subhash Sharma, Smita Dixit, Chaman Singh, and Prabhudayal had conspired to prepare fake papers and register forest land under their names.
12 Years of Delay, 22 Investigating Officers Changed
Due to the involvement of high-profile individuals, the case saw delays for nearly 12 years:
- First FIR was lodged in 2013, but chargesheet remained pending due to influence of powerful accused.
- BS Sidhu retired in 2016, yet the investigation stalled.
- A total of 22 investigating officers were changed, but none made progress.
- The 2022 complaint by the DFO revived the case, leading to the formation of SIT.
- Under the supervision of IPS officer Sarvesh Panwar, the SIT intensified the probe in 2023.
By April 2024, the SIT filed chargesheets against Sidhu and others including Natthuram, Deepak Sharma, Smita Dixit, and Subhash Sharma. Now, based on the 2022 FIR, both the ex-DGP and former tehsildar have also been charged for misuse of official position.
Solid Evidence Collected by SIT
Senior police officials confirmed that the SIT has gathered strong evidence against all accused. Chargesheets had already been filed earlier against most co-accused, and with this recent move, even top-level officials are now being brought under the scanner.
The next hearing in the case will take place in court, where proceedings will be based on the evidence submitted by the SIT.
