Keonjhar: Tightening the noose around the necks of wood smugglers, forest officials seized illegal timbers worth lakhs by conducting a raid in Goras village under Patana Forest Range in Keonjhar district on Saturday.
After getting a tip-off from Keonjhar ACF Ajay Kumar on the illegal log consignment a team of Patana forest officials led by Ranger Pabitra Mohan Nayak raided the sawmill located inside Khemana forest this morning.
During the raid, the officials came across around 28 logs of ‘sal’ wood and seized them. Similarly, a number of tools used in wood cutting were also found from the spot.
While wood mafia managed to escape from the spot smelling the raid a manhunt has been launched to trace them, said Forest Department sources.
Ms Kalinga