Rayagada, October 19: In a joint late-night operation conducted on Sunday, October 18, 2026, at around 11:20 PM, the Tikiri and Rayagada forest department personnel intercepted a pick-up van loaded with illegal timber and detained three individuals. The raid was carried out acting on the strict directives of the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Rayagada and under the supervision of the Rayagada Forest Range Officer. During interrogation, it was revealed that the accused were transporting 74 pieces of Sal wood sized timber illegally harvested from the Kharaka Reserved Forest near Kharaka village.
The detained accused persons have been identified as Mithun Naik (32), son of Rameswar Naik; Das Majhi (34), son of Zimbiri Majhi; and Ganapati Majhi (42), son of Lalmani Majhi—all hailing from Limadara village. Further investigation is currently underway by the forest department to unearth potential links and identify other individuals involved in the illegal timber smuggling ring.
