Forest department’s top officers suspended after 6 deaths in Almora fire reinstated with full salary, clean chit, just a warning

The scars of the six most tortuous death of forest employees who had gone to extinguish the massive fire in the jungles of Almora on June 13 are still fresh in everyone’s mind and hearts. This particular incident of the most tragic death of six workers of the forest department who had been deployed to extinguish the fire in Almora forests was shattering enough to shake the conscience of every human being because all the six dead bodies were found in a roasted form even banned to be exhibited in social media. The entire media was full of headlines regarding these six tragic deaths with the forest department is real fix.

Since this shocking incident of the departmental failure of forest department to save the lives of six workers has raised several questions in the media and sociopolitical circles with the state government under severe questioning several high ranking officers were suspended to douse/ diminish the anger of the common people and the questioning media about various serious lapses. The high level enquiry into this probe was ordered immediately then, with the hope that some concrete results will come out holding senior officers responsible for these six tragic deaths for serious lapses but unfortunately after two months of the probe not only has the officers suspended then have been taken back conveniently with full salary, giving them the clean chit and stereotype warning, the investigating report has been termed as a JUDGEMENT ERROR allegedly amounting to holding the deceased themselves responsible for their own tragic deaths.

Making this startling revelation an in-depth investigating journalist of Uttarakhand Ajit Singh Rathi has while exposing this coverup of the forest department wrote on his social media handle X catagorically : No one is responsible for the death of six workers who died in the fire in the forests of Almora on June 13!! There has been a ‘judgement error’ in the investigation report, now it will be said that they themselves are responsible for their death, they should not have gone to extinguish the fire. To avoid the blame of the accident, the state government has reinstated the officers who were suspended and who were making noise about major action, with full salary. Forest Conservator Coco Rose has been posted at the same place and IFS Dhruv Martolia has become Bageshwar DFO. Before this, CCF PK Patra, who was attached to the headquarters, was already made the CEO of ‘JICA’. These officers were given a clean chit with a warning.