Baramulla, July, 14 :Police on Saturday claimed to have busted a mafia of forest smugglers by arresting 19 smugglers in north Kashmir’s Sopore town in Baramulla district on Saturday.
Following reports by Kashmir Images on rampant timber smuggling in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district, forest protection force and forest department with the help of police pulled up the socks and launched strong drive against timber smugglers.
The arrests were made from Rampura and Rajapora areas in the outskirts of Sopore.
The arrestees are involved in forest smuggling in the areas which are covered with dense forests, police said.
“We arrested 19 persons who are involved in forest smuggling,” said a senior police official in Sopore adding that the arrested persons have been booked under different FIR’s and further investigations have been taken up.
Meanwhile, in an official communiqué, police identified the arrested smugglers as as Bilal Ahmad Lone, Ali Mohammad Lone, Mohammad Afzal Lone, Tariq Ahmad Rather, Riyaz Ahmad Lone, Ghulam Nabi Sheikh, Abdul Gaffar Lone, Habib-ul-lah Sheikh, Ashiq Hussain Lone, Abdul Rashid Lone, Ashaq Ahmad Lone, Manzoor Ahmad Lone, Fayaz Ahmad Lone, Firdous Ahmad Lone, Khursheed Ahmad Lone, Sajad Ahmad Lone, Bashir Ahmad, Bashir Ahmad Lone, Shazad Ahmad Lone, all residents of Rajpora Sopore, and were evading their arrests since long.
With the arrest of these smugglers as many as 12 forest theft cases will be challaned before the Court of law, the press release claimed adding that general public had hailed the police action and urged that strict action be taken against the jungle smugglers so that no loss is inflicted on the forests of the district.
