Mohali, February 17

The Punjab Non-gazetted Forest Officers Association today demanded cancellation of FIR registered against three of officials of the Forest Department by Mohali police.

The association also threatened to launch an agitation if the demand was not fulfilled in four days. They threatened to suspend all development works being undertaken by the department across the state.

Jasbir Singh, Circle Secretary of the association, said this while addressing a rally organized by the association outside the state headquarters of the Punjab Forest Complex in Sector 68 here. Employees from across the state took part.

The police had acted at the behest of the sand mining mafia as the forest department was trying to check sand mining in the Nayagoan-Nada belt in Mohali district, they said.

They said there were several instances wherein police delayed the registration of cases against violators of the Forest Rules. It took the police three months to register a case of assault against unscrupulous elements for detaining forest officials on duty.

Last week, the police had booked Forest Range Officer Gurman Singh, guards Devinder Singh, Sahib Singh and Amrik Singh along with six others for allegedly threatening and assaulting Varinder Singh, a suspect in a sand mining case. While the police has been stating that the case had been registered after the victims moved court alleging non-registration of a case, the forest department officials alleged that the police was acting under pressure. Later, the association members submitted a memorandum of demands to the Deputy Commissioner, Mohali.