Timber smuggling bid foiled in Nurpur; 7 vehicles seized

Following a credible tip-off, the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) of the Nurpur Police District, in a pre-dawn operation, intercepted seven transport vehicles — including six pickup jeeps and one truck — on the Bhadukhar–Riyali Road under the Fatehpur police station limits at around 4 a.m. today.

The vehicles, loaded with timber logs of valuable tree species, were reportedly on their way to Punjab from different locations falling under the Jawali, Rehan, and Fatehpur police stations. The logs are suspected to have been smuggled from the interstate border area after being illegally felled from forests in the Nurpur Police District.

SP Nurpur Kulbhushan Verma said that a case under Section 303(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 41 and 42 of the Indian Forest Act had been registered at Fatehpur police station, and further investigation was underway. He said the preliminary investigation revealed that two vehicles carrying timber logs had originated from Patta-Jattian in Jawali, three from Ring-Takwal in Fatehpur, and one from Sakri under Rehan police station.

The SP clarified that timber logs can only be transported during daylight hours and with the requisite legal transport documents. However, in this case, no valid documents were found in the possession of the vehicle drivers. Verma said that the police, in collaboration with the Forest Department, had launched an investigation to trace the source of the seized timber and ascertain the ownership of the forest produce.

Ironically, the forest mafia remains active in this interstate border area despite the presence of local Forest Department field personnel. Timber worth lakhs of rupees is allegedly being smuggled out of the state during the night, while the department has failed to curb this illegal activity, reportedly due to the negligence of concerned officials. The district police have seized the entire consignment of timber logs, handed it over to the Forest Department, and impounded all vehicles involved in the illegal transportation. All the impounded vehicles bore Himachal Pradesh registration numbers.

The seizure of such a large cache of forest produce has exposed loopholes in the field-level strategy of the State Forest Department, which appear to have emboldened the forest mafia to continue illegal felling and smuggling operations. Local environmentalists have demanded a high-level probe into such smuggling cases and called for strengthened surveillance at interstate border check-posts.