Siliguri, 17th September: In a foiled attempt of trafficking, the Dabgram Range personnel of the Forest Department successfully apprehended a man with a pickup van loaded with valuable sal wood. The arrested accused has been identified as Asit Dutta (26), a resident of Uday Nagar near Siliguri’s Uttar Kanya.
As per reports, on Saturday late at night, the forest personnel of Dabgram range conducted a raid near Tinbatti More, based on a tip-off, and held a pickup van. Upon searching the vehicle, sal wood with an estimated value of about 70 to 80 thousand rupees was recovered.
According to the forest officials, the wood was cut from the forest a few days prior and was being transported for smuggling from Siliguri to Shiv Mandir. On Sunday, the arrested accused was produced before the Jalpaiguri court, while, the forest department is engaged in further investigation.