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Bengaluru: The brother of BJP MP Pratap Simha, Vikram Simha has been arrested on Saturday by forest department in Bengaluru in connection with the felling of trees worth crores without permission. He was arrested by the Organised Crime squad of Central Crime Branch, is currently in the custody of forest department.
As many as 126 trees worth crores were felled without permission and smuggling the logs out of Nandagondanahalli village in Karnataka’s Hassan district. The department filed an FIR against him a week ago. An official report said “available documentary evidence” hinted at his involvement in the crime.
After the case made headlines, Vikram Simha evaded the officials and avoided phone calls from the investigating officer. The officials used electronic surveillance to track down Vikram to Bengaluru. In a joint operation, The forest officials reached out to the Organised Crime team and Vikram Simha was arrested . Vikram Simha has been taken to Belur for questioning. He will now be taken to Hassan for further action in the case.
BJP MP brother’s arrest comes at a tough time for the him, who is already drawing fire from the Opposition after his name came up in the Parliament breach case. After the arrest, Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre said, “The accused will be tried under the Tree Preservation Act as it is a crime to cut trees without obtaining permission, either on government or patta land. The local tahsildar brought the matter to light. This shows negligence by forest officials.”
