New Delhi: The Indian Forest Service Association (IFSA) has urged the Meghalaya government to order a CBI inquiry into the incident of mysterious death of a senior IFS officer.
N Luikham, a Meghalaya-cadre IFS officer, who was posted in the state as a chief conservator of forests, died by suicide at his residence on Wednesday.
Suneesh Buxy, secretary general of the IFSA, wrote a letter to Meghalaya Chief Secretary D. P. Wahlang, said that one of the factors behind the officer taking his own life was the allegation of sexual harassment by a female officer working in the Meghalaya government.
The letter by IFSA claimed that late N Luikham was under a lot of mental trauma and agony because of the fabricated allegations masterminded by some powerful mining lobby in the state.
“It is also learned that nothing substantive has been found against the officer in the said case,” Buxy wrote in the letter to the Meghalaya government.
The IFSA has also marked a copy of the letter to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav.
The IFSA said that Luikham was an outstanding officer with high integrity and moral character.
Buxy said that the circumstances surrounding the officer’s death raise serious questions and urged the state chief secretary to assign the matter to the CBI for a detailed and impartial inquiry.
The IFSA also demanded stringent action for acts of abetment or negligence, to prevent such incidents from recurring.
“His untimely demise is a blow to the battle for the conservation of natural resources,” the IFSA letter said.
