Siliguri, 02nd August: Forest officials of Dabgram Range, Baikunthapur Division, arrested a person with timber worth lakhs of rupees on Tuesday night in Siliguri.
Acting on a tip-off, the forest personnel of Dabgram range conducted an operation in front of Gaudiya Math adjacent to Burdwan Road in Siliguri and intercepted a pickup van. During the search, sal wood worth lakhs of rupees was found inside the pickup van. The driver of the pickup van, Pulak Mandal, a resident of Khaspara in Kestupur of Bagdogra, was arrested as he failed to provide any valid documents for the timber.
On interrogation, Mandal told the forest officials that he was taking the wood from Siliguri’s Champasari to Bihar. Range Officer Shyama Prasad Chakladar said that the operation was launched based on information received from a source. The incident is being investigated.