Budgam: Four Forest Department employees were reportedly injured during a face-off with timber smugglers at Jabbad block of Doodhganga forest range in central Kashmir’s Budgam district on Saturday evening. The officials are said to have covered 10 kilometers by foot during the night hours to catch timber smugglers, after recent reports of illegal timber felling in the area.
An official of the department informed news agency Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that on Saturday late evening, after receiving the information that some jungle smugglers are coming towards the d13, d14 of Jabad block in Doodganga forest to chop off the trees illegally, a team of more than 25 forest officers, headed by Range Officer, Doodganga, Tariq Nazir, were sent to the said place to thwart their mission.
“As soon as our officers, who walked ten kilometers by foot, reached the spot and found more than forty people cutting down trees, our men took up positions and tried to capture them, but we were not covering any weapons because of which they attacked us and in counter attack, four of our young men were injured,” he said.
The officer said that smugglers want to take advantage of the Covid lockdown and cut down the forest which will not be tolerated.
“Our officers bravely confronted the smugglers who had come from Shopian. We confiscated their four horses, and recovered the 70 cfts timber during the operation,” he said.
He said that they have approached the police station Chadoora with regard to file an FIR and urged the administration to initiate an inquiry. —(KNO)
