Two held for felling sandalwood tree in Erode’s Bargur hills

Two persons were arrested by the Forest Department for allegedly felling a sandalwood tree on a farm adjoining the Onthanai forest area near Thamaraikarai in Bargur on Tuesday. The two were identified as M. Senthilkumar (35) of Thuraiyur and G. Loganathan (27) of Musiri, both in Tiruchi district.According to the Forest Department, a sandalwood tree stood on a farm belonging to Eerannan. The two men were cutting the tree with a saw in the early hours of the day when Mr. Eerannan and locals noticed them, surrounded them and caught them.On information, a Forest Department team, led by Forester Eswaramoorthy, reached the spot. The officials seized the five-foot-long cut sandalwood tree, weighing around 75 kg, besides the saw and a knife allegedly used by the men.Preliminary inquiry showed that the duo came to Erode to visit the Gurunathaswamy temple in Pudupalayam. They stayed in the Bargur forest area for two days with the intention of felling and taking away the sandalwood tree.On the directions of the District Forest Officer, the two were fined ₹25,000 each. Forest Department sources said some more persons could be involved in the incident and efforts were on to trace them. Published - August 19, 2026 06:38 pm IST