Dilip Nath questioned the double standards of the Assam government.
Digital Desk: On February 6, 2018, a rhino mysteriously disappeared from Assam’s Burachapori Wildlife Sanctuary without any resolution in sight. The female rhino defected from Orang National Park before forest officials attempted to retrace it to its habitat, but it ended up in Burachapori. The animal was tracked for 14 days, and 200 personnel kept surveillance until it vanished.
The former Mangaldai DFO Ramesh Kumar Gogoi questioned Jitendra Kumar about the rhino locations only to receive a false report of the animal returning to Orang National Park. He showed a photo which he supported with the testimony of Naba Borah who worked as Darrang's Additional Deputy Commissioner. Despite being named as a witness for sighting the rhino Borah ultimately declared that he had merely surveyed land at that time.
Wildlife activist Rohit Nath raised his concerns about suspicious activities to the Central government thus prompting the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to start their investigation. MoEFCC personnel located skeletal remains around the Laokhowa forest camp that seemed to be without its horn.
Evidence clearly connected Kumar to the dead rhino as well as the missing horn yet none of the findings resulted in charges being filed. The Chief Minister established an investigation by appointing the Additional Chief Secretary (Environment & Forest) on January 4th 2020. The case investigation about the unresolved poaching incident took four years to complete without any outcome.
Nath criticized Assam's slow response by pointing out that forest officers serving minor bribery sentences yet the rhino poaching IFS officer has not been punished. He demanded explanations from Kumar regarding the non-existent rhino together with the fake discovery of a rhino skeleton at Laokhowa.
The Assam Forest Services suspended Kumar as Goalpara DFO on June 6, 2023 while keeping him at risk for disciplinary proceedings. The authorities lifted his suspension and currently assign him to work as DCF (Publicity) under PCCF, Assam. He was unavailable for comment.
During his presentation Nath disclosed the corruption activities of N. Anand who served as the Managing Director of Assam Mineral Development Corporation (AMDC). During his period at Umrangso fourteen miners became trapped in a rat-hole mining disaster while their bodies still have not been recovered. The Managing Director of AMDC came under investigation for unlawful practice of awarding fake companies with bamboo mill tenders in both Chamaguri and Dhekiajuli. The transfer of him to another role became the only action taken instead of pursuing legal prosecution with prosecution.
Nath requested that the Chief Minister’s Special Vigilance Cell conduct impartial investigations against corrupt officials. “ corruption is corruption”-whether by an Assamese officer or an IFS officer. The government must act fairly and uphold justice. “He asserted
The case of the missing rhino and the alleged cover up by the senior officials continues to raise questions about accountability and the government’s commitment to protecting Assam’s wildlife and fighting corruption.
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