HP: Man arrested for keeping illegally extracted cedar oil

A man was today arrested in connection with the January 23 seizure of 17,000 litres of illegally extracted cedar oil from the Chopal forest here, police said.
Ramanand has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Indian Forest Act for keeping the cedar oil hidden in the forest, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Chopal, Santosh Sharma, said.
The police had also seized 85 empty drums from the forest.
Extraction of the oil was banned in Himachal Pradesh in 2012 as it harmed cedar trees.
The DSP said the police has also recovered 55 drums of 50 litres capacity each and 30 drums of 200 litres capacity each from the godown of one Laik Ram.

However, Ram has claimed that he stopped extracting the oil after it was banned, the officer said.
The police are investigating all aspects of the case. The forest department has charge-sheeted two of its employees of after preliminary enquiry, the DSP said.