BSF men caught smuggling timber in Bandipora
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Mir TariqBandipora, Sep 13: The BSF personnel were caught red handed while smuggling illicit timber by the forest officials in this North Kashmir district.Eyewitnesses said that personnel of 51 bn BSF 'A Coy' (TAC HQ) were caught when they were ferrying four green logs measuring 200C cft to their camp located in the premises of tehsil office Bandipora.They said that fearing reprisal the forest officers seized only a single log and let the troopers carry the remaining three logs to their camp.
Forest officials, pleading anonymity told Rising Kashmir that troopers are felling green trees in the North Kashmir for making furniture. “They then smuggle the furniture to their respective states to decorate their residential houses,” they said.They alleged that BSF personnel are chopping green trees in the Khuihama forest range in Bandipora forests. “They are regularly felling trees and thus playing with the fragile environment of Kashmir. Besides chopping green trees in near by forests, the troopers are using the seized timber of the forest department in Khuihama forest range for their personal use”.They said that whenever the forest personnel object to the felling of green gold, they are being intimidated and threatened of dire consequences by the troopers. "I once tried to stop BSF troopers from chopping the trees. Instead of stopping felling of trees, they beat me with gunbutts and warned me of dire consequences in case I exposed it,” said a forest official.Range Officer Khuihama Abdul Rashid Lone while expressing his helplessness admitted that BSF personnel are chopping the trees near the forest area."Today in early morning, BSF personnel of 51 bn 'A' Coy ferried four green logs. Later, in order to hide their ‘crime’ they joined the army convoy to prevent forest officials from stopping them. A forest guard alerted us and a team of officials was sent and the illicit timber was seized from the vehicle,” he said.When contacted, the commanding officer of BSF C L Meena said, "I have no information of it. I will look into the matter.”Repeated attempts to contact DIG BSF proved futile as he did not pick up the phone.