The State Forest department appeared to be reluctant to act in the case of Khanpur MlA Pranav Singh Champion’s wife Devyani Singh purportedly wearing a leopard pelt coat to the Assembly in January this year. Though the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau had directed the State chief wildlife warden to take necessary action in this case, the department was yet to start even investigating the case.
It will be recalled that the MlA’s wife had worn the said coat to the Assembly in Session on January 20. On that day, the Dehradun divisional forest officer had told The Pioneer that he would get the coat checked if the MlA and his wife were still in Dehradun and had not gone to their constituency in Haridwar district. However, the department evidently failed to take any action in this case since then. later, People For Animals, Uttarakhand, approached the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau on February 8 after which the WCCB directed the chief wildlife warden on February 13 to initiate necessary action.
However, though the officials stated that the process had been started, nothing concrete had been done so far by the department while the MlA had already held a Press conference and displayed an artificial coat claiming that it was the one worn by his wife. On being asked as to what steps will be taken by the department to ascertain that the coat provided by the MlA for lab test is the same coat worn by his wife to the Assembly, the Dehradun DFO Sushant Patnaik simply said that the case would be investigated.
“We will investigate the matter and decide the action to be taken,” he added. Wildlife activists have substantial reasons to allege that the department was giving the MlA ample time and chance to avoid legal action.