Kathua, October 9: In a late-night operation on Wednesday, a forest department team foiled an attempt to smuggle khair wood in the Rajbagh area. The team, headed by Forester Shiv Kumar (Beat Officer, Lower Hiranagar) along with Forest Guards Nitish Rasotra, Shiv Murti, and Naresh Kumar, was on routine night patrolling when they spotted a Mahindra pickup (Registration No. JK08 3658) moving suspiciously near Rajbagh.
Sensing foul play, the team immediately gave chase and alerted the Korepunnu Check Post for assistance. The check post team — comprising I/C Dheeraj Pankaj, FGD Bittu Ram, and FGD Kali Dass — swiftly joined the operation.
The vehicle was successfully intercepted near Banyari–Andachak road. However, the driver and co-driver managed to flee from the scene under the cover of darkness. Upon inspection, the vehicle was found loaded with khair wood, suspected to have been illegally transported.
The forest team seized the vehicle and brought it to the Haria Chak Nursery for further legal proceedings.
The entire operation was carried out under the close supervision of Range Officer Jasrota and the overall guidance of Worthy Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Sh. Ankit Sinha, IFS.
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