Locals at village Totalbharri under Dongargarh Forest Range caught a truck of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), smuggling Sagon wood logs on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday. Rajnandgaon Forest Department officials had launched probe after registering circumstantial report. According to the information, dwellers of villagers of Totalbharri got an information about some people smuggling out Sagon woods. The villagers set a blockage on the road and started checking the vehicles coming from the direction of forest.

 

Suddenly, on checking an ITBP truck, they found logs of Sagon wood. ITBP Truck (CH-01-GA-2444) was laden with 11 logs and 1 stump of Sagon wood. Villagers immediately called up the Forest Department team and kept the ITBP personnel under watch till the arrival of Forest Department team. The local police also reached the spot considering the delicate situation. As the Forest Department team the spot, the Sagon wood logs were seized and a circumstantial report was filed. In this regarding Sub-Divisional Officer Dongargarh has said, villagers call them to inform about the Sagon wood smuggling.

 

The forest team reached the village and confiscated 11 logs and 1 stump of Sagon. Further investigation was under way to ascertain if the wood logs came from Government land or private land. It’s to be noted that illegal logging is going for quite sometimes in Rajnandgaon. Timber wood is smuggled out easily ever since Forest Department removed several check-posts.