Team Herald
They alleged that the forest officer and his team were acting on the instruction of Priol MLA Deepak Dhavalikar.
On Saturday, RFO Naik and four others raided the house of BJP Priol chief Satish Marcaikar after receiving a complaint that the latter had caged parakeets. The BJP alleged that the forest officials asked the media to tag along simply to defame Marcaikar, who had questioned PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar over the latter’s alleged fake degree at a press conference recently.
The BJP stated that the raid had damaged Marcaikar’s prestige and demanded the RFO’s immediate suspension for conducting the raid without any evidence. They warned of an agitation in front of the Ponda Forest Department on Monday if their demand was not met.
The BJP further said that forest officials should not dance to politicians’ tunes and harass innocent people such as Marcaikar, whose family was still in shock.
Deputy Conservator Milind Kharkhanis assured Marcaikar that he would look into the matter. He said that the raid was conducted after receiving a complaint and was not meant to defame the BJP chief. He conceded that in most raids they never found any illegalities, but he backed the RFO for “rightfully performing his duty.”
