A division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Nishita Mhatre and Justice T Chakraborty directed Bharati Ghosh, SP of West Midnapore district, and the Officer Incharge of Sabang police station to appear before it on February 10 and explain the position of the police in this regard.
The order came during the hearing of a PIL that claimed the head of Bolpai village panchayat had got permission from the forest department for felling 996 trees for road widening and other development projects in June, 2016.
It was submitted before the court that after finding out the facts, the forest department had imposed a penalty of Rs 6.44 lakh on the panchayat head, who has not paid the fine till date.
The forest ranger had then lodged a complaint with the Sabang police station, but the officer incharge had not initiated a case after receipt of the complaint, the court was informed today.
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