SHILLONG: Range Forest Officer C. Ch Marak from Simsanggre Range Forest in East Garo Hills lodged a complaint at Williamnagar police station that on the night of July 20, unknown criminals broke open the timber store at Forest IB, Chidekgre in the district and stole the sawn timber.
This is not the first case of timber theft reported from Garo Hills which has witnessed a series of such incidents even as the forest department has expressed its inability to contain the crime since the forest guards are not allowed to handle sophisticated weapons.
Recently, a forest guard under muster roll was also shot at by miscreants.
The home guard and civil defense department had also written to the forest department about its inability to provide sophisticated weapons citing that the arms will be snatched away by militants.
However, an official source said that this stand of the home guard department does not stand good and those guarding the forest should be provided with sophisticated weapons.
“The BSF is guarding the border with sophisticated weapons and nobody snatches away their weapons. It is high time that the forest department demands the release of sophisticated weapons to the forest guards,” the source said.
