DEHIRADUN: Uttarakhand high court (HC) on Friday came down heavily on state govt and police for registering an FIR against a forest department official based on a complaint filed by an alleged mining mafia member. The court ordered the suspension of the officer who registered the FIR and directed the transfer of the entire staff of Vikas Nagar police station.A single bench of Justice Rakesh Thaplilyal was hearing a petition filed by Rajeev Nayan Nautiyal, sub-divisional forest officer of Kalsi, and noted that an FIR was lodged against him at 12.15am on 26 Feb at Vikas Nagar police station following a complaint by Manish Chauhan, alleged to be linked with illegal mining operations.Calling the circumstances “very strange”, the bench questioned the state’s handling of the case and remarked, “What exactly is going on here? You are unable to even protect your own official.” The HC directed the DGP and SSP to ensure the transfer of the entire police station staff and ordered a probe into possible collusion with the mining mafia.“Who is colluding with the mining mafia?” the bench asked, while emphasising that mining activities in the region must cease completely and directed the state counsel to obtain necessary instructions from the govt in this regard.The court also sought an explanation from the SHO on why an FIR was registered against Nautiyal despite him having filed a complaint against the mining mafia in Dec last year. It directed that Nautiyal should not be arrested in connection with the FIR and scheduled the next hearing for Monday.Nautiyal’s counsel told the court that Chauhan and another individual, Rakesh Uttarakhandi, were the masterminds behind the mining operations, facilitating the safe passage of trucks loaded with minerals, shielding them from scrutiny by the forest department. The counsel also submitted a video of the incident to the court, which showed mafia henchmen allegedly dragging Nautiyal out of his official vehicle and manhandling him while he was on patrol duty.Notably, in Dec the HC had stayed Nautiyal’s transfer, ruling that it violated provisions of the Uttarakhand Annual Transfer for Public Servants Act, 2017. The court observed that the officer had not completed his minimum tenure and that the transfer order lacked legal backing. Nautiyal had challenged the Dec 11, 2025, transfer order issued by the principal secretary of forest.
