Top forest official transferred following graft allegation

The Madhya Pradesh government today transferred Ajit (rpt Ajit) Shrivastva, Chief Conservator of Forest, Jabalpur, to Bhopal.

A recording of a purported conversation between Shrivastva, an Indian Forest Service officer, and a timber merchant named Ashok Ranga, in which the officer demanded a bribe of Rs 55 lakh from the latter, is in circulation on the social media.

Ranga had recorded the alleged conversation.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had said yesterday that he was aware of the matter and will take action against the accused official only after a probe as Shrivastva had reportedly claimed that he had been "trapped" in a false case.
 

An official release said here that Dharmendra Varma will take over as CCF, Jabalpur.