Six forest personnel, including a range officer, were injured in an attack by suspected timber smugglers in North Tripura. Two Forest Department vehicles were also damaged in the incident.
A forest department patrol team in the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve was allegedly attacked by suspected timber smugglers and villagers, resulting in injuries to five forest officials. Villagers have accused the forest department team of assault.
Delhi Police busted an interstate liquor smuggling racket that used cartons labelled as 'wood polish' to transport liquor to Bihar. One person has been arrested, and the syndicate is being investigated under organised crime provisions.
A number of young women have decided to take upon themselves the responsibility of saving the forest in Sambalpur near Rourkela from timber mafia by attaching themselves emotionally to the trees and protecting them as they would their own brothers.
60-year-old Mehbooba Mufti had been under preventive detention since August 5 last year, when the Centre announced abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution granting a special status and bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two union territories -- Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir.
'With just 2.4 per cent of global landmass, India houses six to eight per cent of planetary biodiversity and hence is a prime target of wildlife criminals.'
