Bilaspur (HP), February 27 A group of people involved in smuggling khair (a type of wood) attempted to attack a team from the forest department after they were intercepted in the Bilaspur district, officials said on Friday.
The incident took place on Thursday night when three members of the khair smuggling group – Ajay Kumar (Ballu), Manish Kumar (Dadiyana), and Mukesh Kumar (Dali), all residents of Bilaspur district – were intercepted by a team from the forest department. The smugglers allegedly attempted to attack the forest workers and officers who were performing their duties.
The Bilaspur Sadar forest department team had earlier received information that khair wood, also known as "white gold," was being illegally extracted from the forests in the Jhaleda Kuddi area. This led to the setting up of a trap.
Taking advantage of the darkness, the smugglers were attempting to flee with the goods loaded into a pickup truck, forest officials said.
As soon as the team signaled the suspicious pickup truck to stop, the driver instead sped away, they added.
A dangerous situation arose when the smugglers attempted to run over five personnel, including the range officer, who were present at the scene. The department employees saved their lives by being alert and immediately started chasing the vehicle, which was eventually intercepted at Mandi Bharari.
A total of 50 large logs of khair wood were recovered from the vehicle, and all three accused were arrested, officials said.
The team that carried out this operation included Block Officer Surendra and Forest Guards Jitendra, Rajneesh, and Ankesh.
Range Officer Narendra Singh confirmed that the police have registered a case against the accused under relevant sections of the Forest Act and for attempted murder. The vehicle has been seized, and the police are now investigating the illegal felling of khair trees.
