Rishikesh/Dehradun, Jul 9 (PTI) After questions were raised about the fitness of the car used for the jungle safari of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in the Corbett Tiger Reserve, the Forest Department has ordered an inquiry into the matter.

The chief minister enjoyed the jungle safari in the reserve on July 6, whose experience and pictures he also shared on social media. Later, some media reports claimed that the fitness certificate of the vehicle expired five years ago.

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If true, this constitutes a serious lapse in the CM's security.

The opposition Congress has sought an explanation from Forest Minister Subodh Uniyal on this issue.

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"The forest minister should come forward and tell the truth in this regard and give an explanation to the public," Senior Congress leader Pankaj Singh Chhetri said.

Officials said that given the seriousness of the matter, the head of the state forest department, Sameer Kumar Sinha, has ordered an inquiry.

Chief Wildlife Warden Ranjan Kumar Mishra has been appointed as the investigating officer, and he has been asked to submit a report in this regard soon.

When asked about this, Corbett Tiger Reserve Director Saket Badola told PTI that the car used in the safari is in perfect condition and is kept for VIPs only. But, he admitted that the fitness certificate of the car, purchased in 2018, was valid till 2020 and hasn't been renewed since.

The director, however, said that after the case came to light, the fitness certificate was renewed on Wednesday.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)