DFO house raided, Rs 2 crore found stacked

The anti-corruption and vigilance department, in its first drive against corruption under the new state government, recovered Rs 2 crore cash and a large number of animal parts like tiger skins and elephant tusks from a divisional forest officer in Assam.

Principal secretary of forest, Mr Sanjiv Kumar, told this newspaper, “The raid on DFO Mohot Chandra Talukdar has come to our notice. We have already suspended the officer and the department is also looking into other charges pending against the officer.”

Talukdar, the DFO of Dhemaji forest division, had been caught while accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000 from three businessmen in his office.

Sources in the anti-corruption and vigilance cell of the Assam police said that they recovered over Rs 62 lakh in cash from his official residence in Dhemaji district. Following this, officials raided the DFO’s Guwahati house and his parents’ residence at Nalbari. Two digital lockers are yet to be opened.