33-kg 'nag chhatri' found in vehicle, FIR lodged against postal department

The forest department seized 33 kilograms of 'nag chhatri' (trillium govanianum), a high-value banned medicinal herb, from a vehicle of a postal department in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district on Saturday, a senior official said.

The forest produce, packed in three bags, was being sent to Delhi from Kishtwar district through the postal department courier service. A team of officials at a forest check post intercepted the vehicle at Batote along the Jammu-Srinagar highway and during its checking seized the material, forest range officer Surinder Singh Chib told PTI.

"The involvement of postal department officials in smuggling of the banned forest produce cannot be ruled out," he said, adding that no one had been arrested so far.

An FIR was registered against the Kishtwar postal department and further investigation is on, the official said.