Team Herald
BICHOLIM: Forest officials attached to Keri Range forest office on Thursday evening impounded a JCB and arrested three persons for illegally cutting forest tress at Padocem in Sattari taluka.
Range Forest Officer Geeriesh Bailudkar said that the forest officials were on a routine patrolling in Padocem when they found a massive tree cutting using a JCB. On enquiry, JCB driver Nizam Ansari, a resident of Valpoi, informed the forest officials that he was employed by Chetan Salelkar from Sanqulim and Gurudas Naik from Vithalapur. Officials then impounded the JCB and arrested the trio under sections 8 of Preservation of Tree Act, 1984. They were later released on bail.
The patrolling party consisted of RFO Geeriesh Bailudkar, Pandurang Sutar and Mahadev Naik and forest guards Trushant Verekar, Echit Naik, Vishnu Amonkar, Arvind Naik and Ladu Majik.
