Bhadrak: Two days after this newspaper carried a report about illegal timber trade and operations of some saw mills in Bhadrak, a team of Vigilance officials from Balasore raided a sawmill at Sangat Chhak in Purunabazar area Thursday and seized assets worth Rs 12 lakh.
The forest department Wednesday had raided a sawmill near Mudhipada under this block. Forest officials seized valuable timbers and machinery worth over Rs 5 lakh, following a directive from DFO Amlan Nayak.
During the raid Thursday, the Vigilance team seized timber and planks worth over Rs 5 lakh and machinery worth Rs 7 lakh. The Vigilance filed two cases in this regard. Mirza Muktar Bej, the owner of unit, fled the scene just before the raid was carried out.
The team of officials comprising Balasore Vigilance SP Sunil Kumar Senapati, Bhadrak Vigilance DSP Sanjay Kumar Das Mohapatra, Bhadrak DFO Amlan Nayak, Vigilance ranger Shyam Singh and Vigilance Forester Jagannath Parida raided the sawmill with two platoons of police being deployed in the area.
The raid came amid allegations that timber trade has been thriving in various parts of the district while illegal timber depots and sawmills are operating in the town day in and day out due to the alleged apathy of forest department officials.
It was learnt that over 10 sawmills and 100 timber depots operate in the town. Recently, Purunabazar police seized a pick-up van laden with timber at Baliarada. Police had seized three vehicles for transporting timbers illegally over past five months.
Many locals were surprised that how the sawmill owner escaped from the spot minutes before the raid. They alleged that either police or forest officials might have alerted the sawmill owner well in advance.
Locals alleged that at least 20 vehicles were engaged in transporting logs to sawmills on a daily basis amid allegations that forest officials are taking cuts from timber traders.
Timber business is also rampant in Basudevpur. Former IIC of Basudevpur Bulu Munda was caught by Vigilance officials while he was receiving bribe from a timber mafioso. An ASI had been suspended on similar charges.
PNN