Forest department official suspended for dereliction of duty

A forest department official has been suspended for dereliction of election duty during the recently concluded civic body polls in the state, it was officially announced here.
Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) Jaideep Jha, posted in Rajnandgaon district's Khairagarh Forest Division, has been suspended for negligence during urban body elections, an official statement here said today.
Jha was appointed liasoning officer to the Chhattisgarh State Election Commission's election observer for the region, the statement said.
The election observer reported to the State Election Commission that the officer was absent during his visit due to which he faced problems during the election process, the statement said.

During inspection, it was found that Jha was not in office from December 18 to December 27, without informing anyone and could not be contacted even on phone.
Later, Jha was issued a show cause notice, but his response was not satisfactory, due to which action was taken against him.
He will be deputed to the head office of the Divisional Forest Officer of Kahairagarh until further orders, the statement said.