Nagpur: Justice Anoop V Mohta and Justice MG Giradkar at the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed the Deolapar police not to file a charge sheet against two range forest officers (RFOs) investigating the infamous Pench tiger poaching case.
The two RFOs, Nilesh Gawande and Pandurang Pakhale, had moved the High Court seeking quashing of the FIR registered against them on September 11 on a complaint lodged by one of the main accused DevidasKumre, who alleged that the duo had beaten him while in custody.
Police had booked both the RFOs for offences which were non-bailable. Earlier, the RFOs had moved the Sessions Court where the court granted them interim anticipatory bail.
Subsequently, they also moved the High Court through their lawyer Kartik Shukul with Abhilash Shriwas to quash the FIR. Shukul argued that Kumre lodged a fake complaint against the RFOs.
When the accused Kumre was produced in Ramtek court on three occasions, he repeatedly told the court that he was not ill-treated and that he suffered the injuries when he fell down while trying to escape from the spot of the incident. The said statements were made in open court and in the presence of his lawyers.
During medical examination at Deolapar hospital too, he gave the same reason for injury to doctors. Even when he was referred to the GMCH, Nagpur, he had narrated the same story to two different doctors. Before the jail authorities too, he reiterated the same reason while he was filling out the injury report.
The High Court order has come as a big relief to the two RFOs, because had the charge sheet been filed, the FIR could not have been quashed thereafter.
Registering FIR against the RFOs seems to be a clandestine move by vested interest and a section of Congress leaders having links with illegal fishermen involved in fishing and hunting inside Pench Tiger Reserve to scuttle the probe which is not yet complete. Even on the day that they were granted bail by the JMFC Ramtek, a large mob had gathered in their support outside the court. Subsequently, the Sessions Court at Nagpur had cancelled the bail.
Both the officials, on June 26, had seized 150 pieces of tiger bones from Kumre. Further revelation by him led to arrest of 16 accused from who several tiger body parts were recovered.
