Excelsior Correspondent
Anantnag, July 30: An employee of the Forest Department, who is said to be hand-in-glove with the timber smugglers, has allegedly facilitated the release of smuggled timber along with the vehicle seized on Sunday by the State Forest Corporation (SFC) here.
The vehicle carrying the smuggled timber was handed over to the Territorial Forest Kuthar Range Anantnag, regarding which an FIR was also lodged in police station Achabal but to no avail.
Officials said that 7 logs of Deodar along with the vehicle were seized near Okhalbalan Nowgam area of Kuthar Range in the joint action. However, what happened that was shocking as the smugglers managed to get hold of the vehicle with the help of an employee of the Forest Department on Monday.
“The height of smuggling can be judged by the activity done by smugglers, who are hand in glove with the Forest officials especially, In-charge forest control room Junaid Khan and BO Shangus Ab Rashid Shah who paved the way for smugglers as they kept the vehicle in Range premises Achabal instead of CRD Khanabal as directed by DFO Anantnag,” the employee said.
“He has made it possible for them to get hold of the vehicle, while as nobody bothered to question him,” he added.
Once the vehicle, along with the timber was seized, form 25 and other documental formalities done by concerned officials and handed over to forest Range Kuthar premises Achabal for safe custody.
“We did not find the vehicle in the premises, after it was seized on Sunday; he has connections with the timber smugglers and nobody is daring to put a hand on him,” another employee said.
Follow our WhatsApp channel