AGARTALA, March 25 (TIWN): Kailashahar forest department officials seized teak wood while smuggling from Jalai Gram Panchayat area in Kailashahar, based on secret source information. The teak wood along with the vehicle was recovered from the Jalai Gram Panchayat area and brought it to the office of the Divisional Forest Department of Kailashahar.

A Tata Magic car registered number TR02B1922 was coming towards the city with a lot of teak wood. As soon as they saw this vehicle, the forest department staff chased the Tata Magic car and the driver of the vehicle kept the vehicle on the roadside ran away. Range Officer of the Gaurnagar Range Office of Kailasahar Suman Bhowmik said that upon receiving information from secret sources, the Gaurnagar Range Office and the Unakoti Forest Protection Unit jointly visited the Jalai Gram Panchayat area on Saturday afternoon. The market value of the recovered teak cut will be from seventy thousand to one lakh rupees.

However, Range Officer Suman Bhowmik also said that the magic car was also seized in November last year while carrying teak cut illegally and the vehicle was released from the department after taking a penalty as per the rules and regulations of the department. Four months later, in the month of November, this car was again illegally seized with a teak wood.

During the raid, apart from Range Officer Suman Bhowmik, Forest Department Officers Jhumur Chand, Abdul Sahid, Manik Lal Debbarma, Ardhendu Vikas Das and many others of the Forest Department were present.