A nephew of Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar was amongst the two eyewitnesses present when a divisional forest officer (DFO), VS Gill, allegedly assaulted Chief Conservator of Forests (North), G Raman on December 7 at the latter’s Ambala office.
The names of Ramit (Khattar) and his friend and BJP worker from Barara, Rajat (Malik) figure in the first information report (FIR) lodged at Baldev Nagar police station on December 9.
The FIR, based on a complaint by the Chief Conservator of Forests (North) G Raman, reads: “It is brought to your kind notice that on December 7, Virender Gill, divisional forest officer, Kurukshetra, had misbehaved and manhandled with the undersigned and threatened life in the presence of persons namely, Ramit, son of Jagdish, a resident of Delhi, and Rajat, son of Rajender, a resident of Barara, Ambala, in my office room at Forest Complex, Company Bagh, Ambala City.”
When asked whether he was a relative of the Haryana chief minister, Ramit replied in the affirmative. Ramit Khattar is the son of the chief minister’s brother, Jagdish Khattar.
Asked about the reason behind his presence at the office of the Chief Conservator of Forests (North), Ramit said: “I run my own business. This incident is not connected in any way to my being a relative of the Haryana chief minister. My friend Rajat had some issues pertaining to the forests department. Actually, it was regarding the growth of tree branches outside his establishment. I was on my way to Chandigarh and stopped by at Ambala to accompany him to the office of the Chief Conservator of Forests.”
{{/usCountry}}Asked about the reason behind his presence at the office of the Chief Conservator of Forests (North), Ramit said: “I run my own business. This incident is not connected in any way to my being a relative of the Haryana chief minister. My friend Rajat had some issues pertaining to the forests department. Actually, it was regarding the growth of tree branches outside his establishment. I was on my way to Chandigarh and stopped by at Ambala to accompany him to the office of the Chief Conservator of Forests.”
{{/usCountry}}When asked about the presence of the chief minister’s relative at his office, G Raman said: “I didn’t know his surname. In fact, Ramit never introduced himself as Ramit Khattar. The other person Rajat was the one who had a grievance and had come to my office to get it redressed. They are in no way connected with the affairs or business of the forests department. They are private individuals.”
Ramit’s friend, Rajat Malik, who claims to run a small business in Barara, said that he went to the office of the Chief Conservator of Forests for redressal of a grievance. He said that he went to meet the officer personally with his friend Ramit from Delhi to complain about a tree’s branch outside his residence after the issue was not redressed on a written complaint. He said that they had just reached the office and were explaining the issue when the incident (manhandling) happened. Rajat, who is associated with the ruling BJP, runs a chemist shop near Barara railway station and had unsuccessfully contested local bodies elections, sources said.
A long-time friend of the chief minister from Rohtak, Narendra Khattar said Manohar Lal has always ensured that his family members do not take advantage of his official position and maintain a high level of probity. “No one from the family is even allowed to stay at his official residence,” he said.