The Jharkhand Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) - Wildlife has sought a report on state DGP D.K. Pandey reportedly posing with a live snake around his neck.
Local newspapers had published a photograph showing the DGP wearing a saffron dress on Maha Shivaratri and coiling a snake around his neck, like Lord Shiva.
Reacting to the media reports, PCCF-Wildlife Lal Ratnakar Singh has asked the officials of the Forest Department to find out whether the Director General of Police (DGP) actually held the snake around his neck.
"As per the provisions of forest laws, keeping snakes is prohibited. If anyone is found violating the law, he could be arrested and there is a provision of three years' jail," said a forest official to IANS.
In Jharkhand, two persons have been arrested in the past on similar grounds.
Interacting with media persons, the top forest official confirmed that he had sought a report from his department's officials.
Of late, the Jharkhand DGP has been embroiled in controversies due to several reasons. The opposition parties had vociferously demanded his removal in the assembly during the recently concluded budget session, claiming the Bakoria gunbattle of 2015 in which 11 Maoists were killed, was fake.
--IANS
ns/nir/bg
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
