Hoshiarpur, Jun 10 (PTI) A forest department team was allegedly fired upon by suspected ‘khair’ wood smugglers during an operation here, officials said on Wednesday.
The forest department, however, managed to seize a vehicle loaded with illegally felled khair wood after a chase, while the accused escaped under the cover of darkness.
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Dharamveer Dairu said the incident took place in the Chohal-Salern forest area on late Tuesday night after the department received information about illegal felling of khair trees.
Acting on the tip-off, a forest department team reached the spot and found smugglers loading ‘khair’ wood into two vehicles. One vehicle had already been loaded, while another was still empty, he said.
According to the DFO, the suspects fled after spotting the forest team.
While one vehicle managed to escape, the forest personnel chased the loaded vehicle.
“During the chase, the smugglers attempted to run over forest department staff and also opened fire,” Dairu said.
The accused later abandoned the vehicle and escaped into the forest under the cover of darkness. No forest department personnel or any other person was injured in the incident, he added.
Dairu said this was not the first attack on forest department staff by khair wood smugglers. A similar incident had occurred in the Patti forest area a few months ago.
The seized vehicle was carrying 30 logs of khair wood. Preliminary information suggests that nine to 10 khair trees were illegally felled, he said.
The entire consignment has been taken into custody and further investigation is underway to identify and apprehend those involved.
Dairu said khair wood is highly valuable, with a market price of around Rs 20,000 per quintal, making it a lucrative target for smugglers.
He alleged that the illegal trade is being operated by an inter-state network, with some members coming from neighbouring Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
The forest department has intensified efforts to protect khair forests and strict action will be taken against those involved in illegal felling and smuggling of forest produce, the DFO said. PTI COR CHS NB NB
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