High Court notice to Forest Department and SP to investigate theft of 350 teak trees

Mumbai: The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has issued notice to the forest department and Superintendent of Police (Rural) Harsh Poddar to respond within two weeks regarding the status of investigation into the alleged theft of 350 teak trees from Khapa Farms. The cost of trees is Rs. This is approximately one crore.

This order has been passed after petitioner Ashadevi Aggarwal applied to the court. The petition states that he owns 3.73 hectares of agricultural land in Khapa taluka which has 350 teak trees. On March 11, 2018, the petitioner came to know that all the teak trees growing on his land had been cut and stolen.

Claiming himself to be the owner of the land, the accused sought permission from the forest department to cut trees. On getting permission, the accused ran away with the wood. The petition states that the petitioner had approached the Kondli police station but the police did not conduct proper investigation and the forest department also did not respond.