Judge Mahendra Karki ordered that Gupta, a local of Siddharthanagar Municipality ward number 1, Bahelia, be released on bail worth Rs 450,000. [break]
The same judge had remanded Allahuddin Shah, Mahommad Kalam and Raju Gupta, all of them drivers of the vehicle carrying the red sandalwood, to police custoday for a month.
The team was caught in Bhairahawa on September 9 as police found 567 kg of red sandalwood hidden under a heap of green chilli.
On the basis of the information provided by the drivers that the sandalwood belonged to Gupta and Surendra Jaiswal, police had arrested Gupta on October 30. He was presented before the district court the next day.
The case was filed against the accused as per the instruction of Mahomad Musalman, district forest officer in Rupanedhi.
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