Forest officials arrest timber smugglers with 300 khair logs

In a major crackdown on illegal timber smuggling, the Forest Department team from Jwalamukhi recovered 300 illegally felled khair logs during a surprise raid in the Sapdi Bhati area on Friday.

According to forest officials, the seized khair timber is estimated to be worth Rs 15 lakh in the open market. The operation was carried out following a tip-off, with a team led by Regional Forest Officer Ishani, accompanied by forest guards Ricky Sharma, Deepak Kumar and Vinod Kumar. The illegally felled timber was discovered near the residence of a local contractor.

Initial investigations indicate that no valid permission had been obtained for the felling of the Khair trees. The department also confiscated an axe used in the cutting and a search operation is ongoing in the surrounding forest areas to trace the exact location of the felling.

The contractor has claimed that the khair trees were felled from private land, but forest authorities have launched an inquiry to verify the legitimacy of this claim.

Dehra Divisional Forest Officer Sunny Verma confirmed the recovery and issued a stern warning to those involved in timber smuggling. “No one involved in the illegal felling of trees will be spared. We have stepped up patrolling and surveillance across vulnerable forest belts,” he said.