KHANDWA: Forest officials in Madhya Pradesh’s Khandwa district have seized a pickup truck carrying illegally felled teak wood worth about Rs175,000 after intercepting suspected timber smugglers in the Kalibhit forest area.
The operation was carried out late Tuesday during a routine patrol in the Bhurkula forest area. Officials became suspicious after spotting vehicle lights deep inside the forest and quickly launched a cordon operation.
The smugglers fled into the darkness after noticing approaching forest vehicles, abandoning the pickup at the scene. Forest personnel later broke open the locked vehicle and recovered 20 teak logs, estimated at nearly three cubic metres.
The seized pickup attracted attention because it featured popular dialogues from the hit film Pushpa, including the slogan, “Pushpa will never bow down.”
Forest officials said the vehicle had previously been seen moving around the forest at night and was already under suspicion. Preliminary information suggests it may be linked to a resident of a nearby forest village.
A case has been registered under forest laws, and authorities are investigating the smuggling network behind the operation.
