India News | 4 Forest Dept Employees Injured in Attack by Suspected Smugglers, Claim Officials

New Delhi, Sep 23 (PTI) Four employees of the Delhi forest department were injured in an attack by suspected liquor smugglers in the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary on Thursday, officials claimed.

Two employees -- a deputy range officer and a wildlife guard -- received serious injuries and were rushed to the Batra Hospital, Deputy Conservator of Forests (South Division) Amit Anand said.

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"The incident took place around 7:30 pm. Around 24-25 people carrying rods attacked a forest team on being confronted," he said.

The official said the department's ongoing action against liquor smugglers has rattled them.

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"On two occasions, we have been able to catch the smugglers along with the liquor stock. Many times, they run away seeing our staff," he added.

The smuggling happens during the dark and the smugglers carry weapons such as knives and sickles, another official said.

Country liquor is manufactured at a place adjacent to the wildlife sanctuary in Faridabad's Anangpur village. The smugglers carry the alcohol to Sangam Vihar, which does not have a liquor shop, he added.

The smugglers have broken down a small portion of the sanctuary's boundary wall and use the route as a shortcut to deliver liquor from Haryana to Delhi on foot or by motorcycles.

In July, the Delhi forest department had written to the Haryana administration, asking it to identify and take action against the liquor vends operating illegally in the eco-sensitive zone near the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary.

Anand said no action has been taken by the Haryana authorities in this regard.

In 2019, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change had declared the area around the boundary of the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary in Gurugram and Faridabad an Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ), prohibiting activities such as commercial mining, setting up industries and establishment of major hydro-electric projects.

The villages included in the eco-sensitive zone are Lakadpur (Surajkund), Pali, Mangar, Bandhwari, Gual Pahari, Balola, Gothra (Mohtabad), Badkhal, Ankhir, Mewla Maharajpur and Anangpur.

Covering an area of 32.71 sq. km, the wildlife sanctuary on the Southern Delhi Ridge of the Aravalli hill range at the Delhi-Haryana border lies in southern Delhi and northern parts of Faridabad and Gurugram districts of Haryana.

It is part of the Northern Aravalli leopard wildlife corridor, which extends from the Sariska National Park in Rajasthan to the Delhi Ridge.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)