The District Forest Office (DFO) has arrested two community forest officials on charge of timber smuggling.  

The DFO held Chairman of Kailashpati Community Forest Buddha Ghalan and Vice Chairman Raj Kumar Ghalan on Friday for their alleged connection with timber smugglers. 

District Forest Officer Jiban Kumar Thakur said they also nabbed forest guard Bir Bahadur Syangbo after trees were cut down in the forest. 

“According to Syanbo’s statement, we came to know about the connection of the chairman and the vice chairman of the community forest with the smugglers,” said Thakur, informing that they have initiated legal action against them. 

Area Forest Officer in Bhaluwahikhor Ramchandra Thakur informed that smugglers transported the fresh timbers via trucks from Kailashpati forest. “However, we don’t know where those timbers were transported,” he said. According to sources, smugglers have been taking away timbers from Lal, Kakadi, Bharatganjsinghgol, Chakari, Tangiyabasti, Ramnagar and Jaguwa forests on a regular basis. The DFO has also suspended area forest guards Dhurba Yadav, Jogendra Chaudhary, Bindeshowri Hajara and Shamvu Bahadur Basnet after rampant felling of trees in Bhaluwahikhor forest. 

Thakur said they have seized 10, 000 cubic feet timber woods within the past eight months. “We will take strong legal action against anyone involved in timber smuggling,” he said.