Karnataka BJP MP’s brother arrested allegedly for cutting of trees worth crores

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Pratap Simha's brother Vikram Simha was arrested by the authorities on Saturday in connection with a case registered against him for alleged chopping of nearly 126 trees without permission and smuggling wood in a village in the state's Hassan district.

The arrest was made by the Organised Crime Squad of Bengaluru's City Crime Branch (CCB), but his custody was later transferred to the officials of the state's forest department.

Vikram Simha was under the custody of the state's forest department at the time of writing this news report.

Notably, earlier this month, Vikram Simha's brother Pratap Simha recently made headlines when he issued visitor passes' to two men who breached the Lok Sabha hall.

In Vikram Simha's case, the state forest department filed an FIR against him on charges of cutting trees without receiving permission from the authorities and smuggling wood in Nandagondanahalli village.

The operation came to light after Mamata, a tehsildar (revenue official), was on a field visit to the village. When she found out about the operation, she alerted the officers and initiated an FIR.

The forest land, where the trees were chopped down, was government-owned and allotted to two people. It was a gomala land (cattle pasturage) that spread over 12 acres.

Confirming his arrest, Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre said that Vikram Simha was arrested by the authorities for illegally cutting 126 trees and selling the wood in the state's Hassan district.

"They have felled nearly 126 big trees which were as old as 50 to 60 years. This is a criminal act. (The) Forest Conservation Act is there, (the) Tree Conservation Act is there, he has violated all of these...," said Eshwar Khandre.