Basudevpur: Forest department officials Friday conducted a raid on an illegal saw mill operating near Anukulachandra temple, on the outskirts of Basudevpur town in Bhadrak district.
Logs worth lakh of rupees and several equipment used in cutting them were seized from the spot. The saw mill was razed with the help of excavators subsequently.
A team comprising ACF Birajmohan Mohanty, forester Jagannath Mishra and district police carried out the raids. Acting on the direction of the collector, Bant tehsildar was present on the spot as executive magistrate.
That said, Basudevpur forest department staff reached the spot after two hours of the raid. Earlier, it had been discussed that the timber mafias were running the saw mill with tacit support of some officials of Basudevpur forest department. Their late arrival only gave credence to the people’s speculation.
Meanwhile, efforts are on to nab the owner of the mill who escaped well before the raid started.
PNN
