* FIRs lodged against habitual encroachers
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 1: In a joint operation, the teams of Forest Department and Jammu Police today carried out anti-encroachment drive in Sunjwan area and razed several illegal structures which had come up on the forest land. Moreover, several FIRs have been lodged against the encroachers, the request for which was made by the Forest Department several days back.
The joint operation was launched on the directions of the Raj Bhawan and Director General of Police, who took serious note of the startling revelations made by EXCELSIOR in today’s edition exposing how the police was shielding the encroachers by not lodging the FIRs despite submission of formal complaints by the Forest Department officials particularly Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Jammu.
Reports said that following directions from the Raj Bhawan and DGP, teams of Forest Department with the assistance of Jammu Police launched anti encroachment drive at Sunjwan where concrete structures on the forest land were dismantled in Compartment No.5/C Khasra No. 371 Bahu Game Reserve in the presence of Duty Magistrate Dr Owais Ahmed, Tehsildar Bahu, Chandan Kohli and Sub Divisional Police Officer Jammu East.
During the operation heavy stone pelting was started by the encroachers and their supporters in which some cops and a helper of Jammu Municipal Corporation sustained injuries. They were immediately taken to hospital for treatment. Even a vehicle of the Forest Department was damaged by the stone pelting mob.
However, undeterred by the resistance the joint teams accomplished the task by demolishing the concrete structures constructed by the encroachers on the forest land in Sunjwan area. In this operation, four kanals of forest land has been saved from the encroachers.
The encroachers, who had constructed structures on forest land, have been identified as Showkat Ali and Haider Ali, sons of Allah Rakha and Ishtiaq Ahmed Shafu, son of Manzoor Ahmed.
Not only on the joint teams of the Forest Department and Jammu Police, the mob also pelted stones on the houses of Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) South, Shahid Mehmood and Deputy Excise Commissioner Jammu, Shahid Salim as encroachers were of the opinion that they were behind the anti-encroachment drive of the Forest Department and Jammu Police.
Meanwhile, Jammu Police has registered several FIRs against the encroachers for which the formal complaints were submitted by the Forest Department particularly Divisional Forest Officer Jammu, Dr V S Senthil Kumar several days back.
Moreover, FIR has been lodged with respect to stone pelting on the houses of two officers by the mob during the anti-encroachment drive.
According to an official handout issued by the DFO Jammu, the whole operation was video-graphed by the Forest Department officials. The operation was carried out by Forest Department team headed by Jyotsana, Assistant Conservator of Forests and Ajit Chander, Range Officer Bahu under the close supervision of Dr V S Senthil Kumar.
“We had already requested police to lodge FIR against these offenders involved in many forest related offences and are habitual forest offenders and today Jammu Police acted on our complaints”, he said.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
