Interstate khair wood smuggling racket busted in Indora range

The Forest Department, Nurpur Division, has unearthed an interstate forest mafia operating in the Indora forest range. Acting on a tip-off, a team led by Forest Range Officer Jagjeet Chawla rushed to the Ghoran forest beat and intercepted a group attempting to smuggle 56 logs of illegally felled khair trees. The operation took place at around 4.30 am on Saturday.

The accused were transporting the khair wood in a pickup jeep (JK 08-D9120) and were allegedly trying to smuggle the logs to Hoshiarpur district in Punjab. Upon spotting the forest department team, some of the culprits accompanying the vehicle fled the scene. However, the team managed to apprehend the jeep driver, Jiwan Kumar, a resident of Ghoran (Indora). The department seized the khair logs and handed over the accused to the Indora police.

Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Amit Sharma said the Indora police arrested the accused and impounded the vehicle. A case has been registered under Sections 41, 42 and 52A of the Indian Forest Act, 1927, as well as Section 303 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The seized logs are estimated to be worth approximately Rs 2 lakh. Further investigation is underway to identify the main mastermind behind this smuggling operation.

Notably, khair wood is used to extract ‘katha’ (botanically known as Senegalia catechu), which possesses medicinal properties and is a key ingredient in Ayurvedic formulations. Due to its high market value, khair wood is often targeted by criminal elements, particularly in the lower Kangra region bordering Punjab, where illegal tree felling has been reported frequently.