Bhopal/ Hoshangabad (Madhya Pradesh): The probe into alleged ‘Chicken Party’ at Satpura Tiger Reserve has brought to fore that the staff reportedly brought chicken from the open market for personal consumption and cooked in the core area of the reserve allegedly in presence of minister Kunwar Vijay Shah.
The probe carried out by the deputy director of the reserve did not definitively confirm whether Shah had the chicken or not. Satpura Tiger Reserve Director L Krishnamurti told Free Press that the inquiry report was sent to forest headquarters on Tuesday.
Sources familiar with the investigation said that minister Shah, accompanied by others, had visited the core area of the Satpura Tiger Reserve in a private vehicle. Shah, during his tenure as forest minister had sanctioned construction work in the core area and so he along with a range officer visited the area to inspect the progress.
The staff procured chicken from a local market and prepared it for their own consumption. The laborers residing there also cooked their meals. The investigation cross checked with the shop from where the forest staff had purchased the chicken, said sources.
Notably, after results of the assembly election were declared, Shah had gone to Satpura Tiger Reserve with his friends and shared photos of his visit to the core area. In one of the photos, a man was allegedly seen cooking the chicken.
The wild life activist Ajay Dubey had taken objection over the ‘Chicken party’ in the core area of the reserve and had lodged a complaint with PCCF Wildlife Aseem Shrivastava. He had also alleged that vehicle carrying Vijay Shah and his friends had ventured too close to a tiger, posing a threat to the wildlife.
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