HT Correspondent
DIBRUGARH, May 18: A heavy firing took place between forest personnel and timber smugglers at Hakunguri beat under Joypur range in Dehing Patali National Park in Dibrugarh in the wee hours of Wednesday.
According to sources, a forest patrolling party was patrolling in the area when they heard sounds of machines cutting trees. They reached the spot to verify but on seeing them, the timber smugglers fired on them and they responded by firing back at the timber smugglers.
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Confirming the incident, Dibrugarh divisional forest officer (DFO), BV Sandeep said that an encounter took place between forest officials and timber smugglers.
“Our forest patrolling party heard the sound of machines cutting trees. They reached the spot to verify the incident and as a result an encounter started between forest personnel and timber smugglers. They fled from the spot. We have seized one machine used for cutting trees,” said the DFO.
He said, “Within this year, this was the fourth incident reported from the area. Our forest staff is ready to give a befitting reply to the timber smugglers.”
“Illegal logging has been going on in Dehing Patkai National Park. Every day, the timber smugglers are slashing trees in the forest area. Many timber mills have been mushrooming in the Arunachal Pradesh area and the timber smugglers using elephants and small trucks to transport from the forest after cutting them,” said a source.
Last year, an encounter took place between security personnel and timber smugglers in the Dehing Patkai National Park in upper Assam that resulted in the death of an elephant. The elephant was hit with a bullet in the crossfire.
After this incident it has been exposed that the timber smugglers are using elephants to transport timbers from forest.
