‘Journalist’ arrested for clearing forest land to cultivate opium poppy in Jharkhand

Chatra: A “journalist” was arrested in Jharkhand’s Chatra district for allegedly clearing forest land to illegally cultivate opium poppy, officials said on Monday. The incident happened in the Rajpur forest area of the district, they said. The “journalist” along with a few others were clearing forest land with a JCB earthmover to make it ready […]

Chatra: A “journalist” was arrested in Jharkhand’s Chatra district for allegedly clearing forest land to illegally cultivate opium poppy, officials said on Monday.

The incident happened in the Rajpur forest area of the district, they said.

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The “journalist” along with a few others were clearing forest land with a JCB earthmover to make it ready for opium poppy cultivation, they said.

As soon as the information was received on Sunday, the area was raided by a joint team of the Forest Department and the police, said Ranger Suryabhushan Kumar of the Northern Forest Division.

Most of the suspected smugglers managed to flee but police arrested two persons — a father and his son, from the spot, he said.

The son, Mukesh Singh, identified himself as the journalist of a daily newspaper and threatened the forest personnel, he added.

The JCB machine was seized from the forest along with a motorcycle, officials said.
Further investigations are underway, they said.