Jaipur forest department seizes nearly 100 kg sandalwood, oil

Around 100 kg of sandalwood and its byproduct-comprising oil and sawdust have been seized by the forest department from a residential premises here, an official said on Wednesday.

It was being sold to a firm in Bengaluru, the official said. Acting on an input received from the Karnataka forest department related to the illegal supply of sandalwood, chips, sawdust, oil, and related products in Bengaluru by a Jaipur-based firm located in Shastri Nagar area, Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) Jaipur circle Rajiv Chaturvedi formed a team to carry out necessary search/seizure procedure, an official statement said.

The team, led by Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) V Ketan Kumar on Tuesday visited the Shastri Nagar area to locate the firm.

Upon not locating the company at the ''provided address'', further investigation was conducted via online searches on e-commerce platforms and through other sources, Kumar said. Subsequently, collaboration with Bhattabasti Police Station led to the tracing of various mobile numbers associated with the firm's owner. This investigation ultimately identified the firm's location at Vidyadhar Nagar, he said. ''At this address, a residential property was found harbouring sandalwood, sawdust, oil, and related materials without valid transit passes. Approximately 100 kilograms of these materials were seized under multiple sections of the Rajasthan Forest Act, 1953. The seized items are currently subject to legal proceedings as per the statutory provisions,'' Kumar, a 2014 batch Indian Forest Service officer said.

The owner of the firm was arrested and later released on a surety bond, the officer said.

Preliminary investigations have indicated that the woods were procured from Gujarat, he said, adding that further probe in the matter is on.

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