Timber

Itanagar, Dec. 2 (UNI) The rampant illegal timber operation and trans-border crimes inside Arunachal Pradesh, particularly along the boundaries adjoining Asom came to light with the recent seizure of seven trucks loaded with timbers worth Rs. three lakh and arrest of 25 persons involved in the trade.

Sasastra Seema Bal personnel seized this timber and nabbed the smugglers, police said.

Moreover, 900 ltr of kerosene oil being smuggled to Asom from Arunachal was seized and seven persons involved in it were arrested in another raid, the report said adding the seized timbers and kerosene along with the arrested persons were handed over to range forest officer, Mazbat, Asom.

Many parts of Arunachal has been facing artificial shortage of kerosene as the essential item was siphoned out of the public distribution system to the open market to earn quick bucks. The apprehension of the smugglers has exposed the racket while indicating the cause of the shortage.

The SSB, which has deployed a company at Balemo, the tri-junction of Arunachal, Asom and Bhutan in West Kameng district to contain such unlawful activities of anti-social elements, has pleaded the Arunachal Pradesh Governemnt to allot suitable land and accommodation to help the organization strengthen its operations, including against underground insurgents.

UNI XC-UPB PC RN1625