Two forest officials suspended as trees worth Rs 1 crore axed in Perambalur

It is said, the Ranjankudi forest region near Mangalamedu is abundant with trees such as teak, neem and jamun. It is said, for the past few days, these trees have been chopped by smugglers. Upon investigation, forest officials found that Sukkur from Ranjankudi village has been smuggling them with support of the forest ranger Mohan and forester Anaiappan.

The smugglers have reportedly sold them for a hefty sum with the help of the forest personnel. On information, the forest department sent a flying squad to the forest region on Tuesday. Accordingly, two squads from Tiruchy and three from Villupuram reached the forests and initiated investigation in which, they found that the smugglers had a nexus with the officials and political personalities. 

Later, they took out a tree census and detected that more than a hundred trees worth Rs one crore had been cut in the forest. Meanwhile, based on the report, the officials had reportedly suspended Mohan and Anaiappan on Wednesday. It was said that a local AIADMK functionary was behind the gang and the officials are in the process of registering a case against him. Further investigations are on.