The court granted bail to Navsu Lohar, alias Pushpa, a notorious forest smuggler operating on the Maharashtra-Gujarat border, after he had spent a month in jail. However, since no one has come forward to post the ₹50,000 bail, Lohar remains in jail. Forest department officials are closely monitoring who might come to provide the bail, as the main mastermind and 25 other suspects in the case are still at large.
Lohar was apprehended by the forest development team in Nashik on June 21 for illegally felling and transporting valuable khair wood on the Maharashtra-Gujarat border. Following his arrest, the court initially placed him in forest custody for five days. During interrogation, Lohar revealed the identities of 25 other individuals involved in khair smuggling, including 15 suspects from Gujarat.
In the meantime, Lohar was transferred to the Central Jail. The investigation is being conducted by Conservator of Forests of the Western Division Pankaj Garg, Divisional Manager Dr Sujith Nevese, Assistant Manager Dheeraj Pardeshi, Praveen Damale, and Forest Range Officer Ramesh Balaia.
