SIT filed chargesheet in court against former Uttarakhand DGP BS Sidhu, the case is of land fraud and illegal tree felling

The SIT has filed a chargesheet in the court against five accused including former DGP BS Sidhu in the case of fraudulently purchasing about 9 bighas of land of the reserved forest area located at Virgirwali on Old Mussoorie Road. Investigation will continue against the other five accused.

It is alleged that former DGP BS Sidhu, in the last days of his tenure in the year 2012, had registered about 9 bighas of land of the reserved forest area located at Virgirwali on Old Mussoorie Road in his name. 25 trees of the Sal species were cut on this land. During that time, an application was given to register an FIR against BS Sidhu, but no hearing was held.

This land was registered in the name of a person named Nathuram two decades ago. Later that land was declared a reserved forest area. After that BS Sidhu searched for a person named Nathuram in Meerut district. A person with this name was found in Rasulpur village of Meerut. Nathuram made fake documents with the help of Gram Pradhan Chaman Singh of Rasulpur village. After this, he showed him as the owner of the land in the registry office and got the land registered in his name.

This mutation was done in the name of BS Sidhu on 13 March 2013. Against this mutation, the sons of the real Nathuram, who lived on Kashiram Quarter Dispensary Road, got a stay from the Additional Tehsildar Court on 25 March 2013. During this time, persons named Rahmuddin and Haji Rizwan came forward and claimed to have the power of attorney of the land in their name. Then the person appointed as Nathuram by BS Sidhu filed a case against him in the city police station on 5 July 2013. When the investigation started in the case, BS Sidhu retired in the meantime. After this, the layers of the game played in buying the land started getting exposed.

SIT’s supervising DIG LO P Renuka has told that the former DGP has been made an accused in the SIT investigation. After nearly a year of investigation, the SIT has filed a chargesheet against five accused – former DGP BS Sidhu, Rahmuddin, Haji Rizwan, Subhash Sharma and Smita Dixit – under sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120B of the IPC. Investigation is also underway against five others.