IFS whistleblower denies meeting U’khand minister

DEHRADUN : Whistleblower officer of the Indian Forest Service (IFS), Sanjiv Chaturvedi denied meeting Uttarakhand forest minister Harak Singh Rawat a day after HT had reported that Chaturvedi had met Rawat over ‘service issues’.

Chaturvedi asserted he has never met the forest minister ‘personally’.

“It is against my principle (to meet the minister personally). Around half of my tenure has been without an assignment but I never met any politician to seek assignment,” he said in a written statement.

He also stated that on that particular day, he was travelling to Gopeshwar.

Chaturvedi has been reportedly ‘sidelined’ ever since he joined Uttarakhand cadre last year.

However, in a surprise move, the government assigned him to probe illegal felling of pine trees in Champawat forest division.