Rajganj, 12th February: The North Bengal Special Task Force of the Baikunthapur Forest Department recovered illegal incense sticks before it could be smuggled.
A vehicle, laden with the incense sticks, was seized from the Fulbari area near Siliguri, late night on Tuesday. The recovered wood has been weighted to be 17 thousand quintals, whose market value has been estimated to be around 1 crore rupees. The driver has been absconding since the incident.
The Head of the Task Force and Belakoba Ranger, Sanjay Dutta, stated that they received information regarding the incense sticks which were being illegally transported from Meghalaya to Bihar via Jalpaiguri on a vehicle. Based on the reports, the Forest officials launched an operation in the Fulbari area and recovered the sticks. Dutta further stated that even though the driver of the vehicle is absconding, an appeal will be made in the Court to issue an arrest warrant against the owner of the vehicle.