Fight for justice: IFS officer alleges harassment, criminal conspiracy against him; writes to President of India for justice

Fight for justice: IFS officer alleges harassment, criminal conspiracy against him; writes to President of India for justice

SALIL RAINA

(POONCH TODAY NEWS)

POONCH/JAMMU: Considered a highly competitive and professional officer by the public of Poonch district, Mohan Choudhary (IFS), who, during his posting as DFO Poonch, brought massive reforms to the Forest Department Poonch by retrieving thousands of kanals of forest land from illegal encroachers, but instead of receiving applause from the government, he was forced to suffer a lot, reasons best known to those sitting at the top level of the government.

The young IFS officer during his stint as DFO Poonch won every single heart by setting a benchmark of professionalism in his department with his competitiveness and dedication. Those big fishes known for looting forest wealth for decades had their toughest time when Mohan Choudhary (IFS) was DFO Poonch; as a result, every sort of conspiracy was hatched against the highly competitive officer, who in real terms proved himself as an asset of the government with his professional dedication. Although some big forest assets are still under illegal occupation in the Poonch district, the efforts of the young IFS officer cannot be overlooked by anybody as he carved out a niche for himself due to his dedication during his stay as DFO Poonch. It is pertinent to mention here that a number of forest assets remained under the illegal occupation of encroachers, but nobody mustered the guts to wage a war to retrieve those assets. But by risking his life, the young IFS officer, as a true soldier of the government, did a lot to get success in his mission to a large extent, but it’s a shocking state of affairs in J&K that he had to suffer a lot. In his letter addressed to the President of India, a copy of which is available with ‘POONCH TODAY,’ the IFS officer alleged that a number of powerful people and some bureaucrats hatched a criminal conspiracy against him and gave him and his family total harassment as he was suspended for unknown reasons. In the letter, Mohan Choudhary (IFS) said that he was not paid salary and other allowances during his suspension period from 08-08-2024 to 03-12-2024. The officer further alleged that even after the revocation of his suspension and his joining in the office of Chief Conservator of Forests Jammu on the 4th of December 2014, he was not paid salary. The officer again said that the J&K administration did not pay him salary from February 2022 except the months of October and November 2023. He alleged that he was forced under suspension with a mala fide intention as a huge conspiracy was played against him, as the same was accepted by an inquiry officer of the rank of principal secretary appointed by the LG’s administration. In the same letter, the young officer said that it’s not a crime to protect forest land of commercial value of the annual budget of J&K UT during his posting as DFO Poonch. Highlighting other official issues and deliberate bureaucratic hurdles against him in the letter addressed to the President of India, the young IFS officer said that he had to face harassment, health issues, financial damages, harm to reputation, emotional distress, and mental agony caused by the arbitrary, mala fide, illegal administrative action and civil consequences in violation of service rules, statutory laws, fundamental laws, and other constitutional rules. After going through unnecessary harassment and facing criminal conspiracy on the part of some big chairs against him, the IFS officer mentioned the names of some high-ranked officers, who allegedly remained part and parcel of unnecessary harassment against him and sought an action from the President of India in the interest of justice. The officer also questioned the integrity of some well-known media platforms for not following the journalistic norms as they published the stories without incorporating his version. He said that the readers have every right to know the truth, but some media platforms carried out biased stories without knowing the true facts in detail. The episode of a young IFS officer, Mohan Choudhary, who proved himself as a highly decorated asset of the government because of his meritorious performance, retrieving forest wealth worth thousands of crores, sincerity in duties, and proving himself as a staunch soldier of the government by giving sleepless nights to the traditional forest mafias and those big fishes who remained part and parcel with the forest mafia, had to suffer a lot, not because of any misadventure on his part, but by standing tall in the face of adversaries and helping the government in retrieving a huge chunk of forest land. Mohan Choudhary’s professional dedication is an example for all in the country, but it’s sad that he had to go through a difficult time as some high-profile chairs were involved in a criminal conspiracy against him, as said by the young officer in the letter that was addressed to the President of India. A number of people from civil society of Poonch, while talking to ‘POONCH TODAY,’ said, “It is the moral duty of the government to honor a meritorious officer to set a good example in society, but going by the contents of the letter, the young IFS officer was backstabbed by all for his professional dedication. This issue has given a wrong signal in the society that powerful people can do whatever they want, including crushing competitive voices like Mohan Choudhary (IFS).”It would be better if the government, in the interest of justice, delved into the issue with a positive frame of mind and blessed the young officer with what he deserves, as he has proved himself as an asset of the government, they further added. The civil society members said that Mohan Choudhary (IFS) is fighting for justice and needs to be honored by the government by all means, rather than facing unnecessary punishment, as this episode has shown the assassination of competitiveness by some powerful people in the government, which is really unfortunate in the eyes of justice, and it’s undoubtedly a bad example for the common man.