Speed Post News Network
Bagaha : The timber smugglers, in a daring act, attacked a team Valmikinagar Tiger Reserve (VTR) led by Tiger Tracker Amresh Chaudhary around 5 pm on November 17, 2018, when it tried to catch them, even as Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, and Water Resources Department (WRD) Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lallan Singh were on a visit to Valmikinagar area in Bagaha police district in North Bihar to promote eco-tourism.
A VTR team led Amresh Chaudhary was on patrolling in Chunbhatha Forest Sector 29, when it noticed a gang of timber smugglers felling forest trees. The team tried to catch them but the timber smugglers carrying arms attacked it in which Amresh Chaudhary sustained serious injuries. He was admitted to a local hospital where the dactors referred him to MJK Hospital, Bettiah, for better treatment. The timber smugglers managed to escape towards Nepal crossing river Gandak. The Forest team claimed it has identified the smugglers.
The attack on Forest team by timber smugglers when the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, and senior Minister were on a visit to the area shocked the locals as the place of occurrence was very near to the place they visited. Deputy CM Modi also holds Environment & Forest portfolio.