Complaint filed against officials who accompanied Tendulkar in Gir

A complaint was filed before the Election Commission today, seeking action against forest officials alleging breach of the Model Code of Conduct, after they accompanied cricketer Sachin Tendulkar during his recent visit to the Gir lion sanctuary in Gujarat. The Right to Information (RTI) Activists’ Association of Junagadh lodged a complaint before the state Election Commissioner today seeking action against officers who accompanied Tendulkar on March 22. “Take action against forest officials who accompanied Sachin Tendulkar and his family during their trip to Gir lion sanctuary, since by doing so, they have breached the Model Code of Conduct,” the Association said in its complaint. [caption id=“attachment_1463163” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Sachin Tendulkar. Reuters[/caption] “They took a caravan of government vehicles and stayed on for more time in the sanctuary. Hence, they have breached the Model Code of Conduct,” the complaint, which has been filed against two forest officers RL Meena and Sandip Kumar, said. “We have received a complaint on this issue. Those forest officers, who had accompanied Tendulkar, were not given any poll duty,” Junagadh district collector and returning officer Alok Kumar Pandey told PTI. “The district conservator of forests, who accompanied Tendulkar, has filed his reply saying that he was with Tendulkar to maintain law and order. We have sent the reply to higher authorities,” Pandey said. On March 22, Tendulkar, along with his wife Anjali, daughter Sarah, son Arjun and a couple of family friends had visited the Gir lion sanctuary. Tendulkar and his family were taken to nearly 15 spots in Gir forest where lions can be easily spotted. PTI