Sehore (Madhya Pradesh): A beat guard of the forest department has stolen fencing wire worth lakhs of rupees, official sources said.
According to official sources, the department handed over the fencing wire, weighing 12,536 kg and worth Rs 13.65 lakh, to the beat guard Raghuveer Singh.
The wire was for encircling four places to protect saplings in the Khajuri area under the Rehti forest circle.
But instead of putting it around four places, the guard hatched a conspiracy to steal the wire.
He took out 2,600 kg of wire out of 12,536 kg. He then told an auto driver of Chakaldi village to keep 2,600 kg of wire at a scrap dealer's outlet.
Meanwhile, the guard lodged a complaint at the Rehti police station against the scrap dealer and the auto driver that they had stolen the wire.
He got both of them arrested. But when divisional forest officer SS Dabar enquired about the case, the guard’s conspiracy came to light.
The department has recovered 2,600 kg of wire and is searching for the rest of it.
Dabar suspended Singh and set up an inquiry against him, official sources said. Dabar said the department would recover the cost of the fencing wire from the guard’s salary.
The guard, involved in an embezzlement case in 2019, was suspended for it.
