BHADERWAH: After continuous crusade by media and Crack down by Doda police against Forest Mafia and corrupt forest officials in Chinab Circle since last two months, situation today took an ugly turn when a complainant and a social worker was brutally attacked by Forest Mafia at Village upper Dandi in Bhaderwah this afternoon when huge seizer of green Cedars was reportedly made from a forest official's house.
The complainant Ghulam Qadir a resident of village upper Dandi who was attacked by Forest Mafia in presence of an investigating team of Territorial Forest officials and Forest Protection Force is undergoing treatment for serious head injuries at sub District hospital Bhaderwah.
"When our investigating team recovered several young green Cedar trees of pole height and some logs at Dandi Forest Block reportedly from one Akhter Hussain' house who happens to be our consolidated employee, suddenly the inmates of the house attacked the complainant," said DFO Bhaderwah T. B. Singh adding that we have taken a serious cognizance of this unfortunate incident and have asked my staff to lodge an FIR against the culprits and the staff involved in facilitating illegal green felling will be booked as well.
It is notable to mention here that Ghulam Qadir has lodged a complaint against Forester Shaifar Iqbal and another employee Akhter Hussian for looting green gold and facilitating timber smuggling on a large scale and also putting Forest land on sale in Dandi block of Bhaderwah Forest Division with Forest Minister and PCCF one month back.
Taking cognizance of the complaint, DFO Bhaderwah was asked to initiate an inquiry to ascertain the facts. Last week DFO formed a joint team of Forest and FPF and also asked the complainant to join the investigating team to identify the areas from where timber was extracted illegally which Ghulam Qadir readily agreed.
Village social activitist Gulam Qadir along with other village youths also called the local media persons and showed massive damage of green Cedar and Pine trees allegedly done by the forest mafia in close cooperation of corrupt officials in forest block Dandi in Neeru range of forest division Bhaderwah.
While showing massive green damage at compartment 57,villager alleged that the unabated cutting of green cover is going on at alarming pace and the concerned higher officials also seem in hand-in-glove as despite repeated complaints to the then DFO Abhjit Joshi, no action was taken against the said Forester and his associate Akhter Hussain.
"Ghulam Qadir was apprehensive that the said Forester and his accomplice can harm him and his family physically as he was getting the threats from the duo of dire consequences for raising a voice against them, and today they managed to attack him in front of investigating team, " said another Villager Saleem Ahmed. Social activist and environmentalist are up in arms against the Forest department and have strongly condemned the attack on Gulam Qadir and demanded action against the criminals at the earliest.