Timber smuggler in police net, timber seized

FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT

ITAGAR, Aug 24: East Siang Police has busted a timber mafia gang with the arrest of one Sandip Das alias Sanjiv Das of Joi on Monday evening.

Das was running the illegal timber operation for long time using fake forest Transit Pass (TP) of the State’s Forest Department and forged seal and sigture of the forest officials.

The arrest was made after receiving a complaint lodged by Forest Department official of Ruksin.

A case has been registered against him at Ruksin Police Station. He was produced before the magistrate on Monday and the court has remanded him to police custody for two days for further investigation.

Police said that accused Das illegally transported timber from Aruchal to Assam on August 21 night. Rusksin police following tip-off caught the driver with the vehicle used in the illegal timber smuggling. Later, based on the driver’s statement police confirmed involvement of the accused and later arrested him.

Meanwhile, Assam forest officials have seized the smuggled sawn timber measuring around 8 CC and drawing offense report against the smuggler Sandip Das.

East Siang police earlier registered two cases against the timber smuggler and charging him under multiple crimil sections. But, he had maged to get bails in both cases. Moreover, a timber laden 10-wheeler truck having registration no AS-07 C- 2996 owned by one Sandip Das was caught by officials of Assam forest department at Silapathar under Dhemaji forest division on June 17 this year.

The seized truck is under the forest department’s custody.

It is pertinent to mention here that the forest officials of both Assam and Aruchal Pradesh held a meeting recently and assured to cooperate with each to check illegal timber operation.