The locked East Damanpur range office. Picture by Anirban Choudhury

Alipurduar, Jan. 3: One timber trader died and another was seriously injured in Damanpur Chowpathi yesterday after they were knocked down by a white Mahindra pick-up van allegedly used by the forest department ever since it was seized with illegal forest produce.

The vehicle sped away after the accident and could not be impounded.

Local timber traders, demanding compensation for the victims, today locked the range offices of East and West Damanpur in the Buxa Tiger Reserve. The offices are adjacent to each other.

The protesters also blocked Buxa Feeder Road connecting Alipurduar town to NH31C for four hours this morning.

The forest department said none of its vehicles had been involved in any accident.

Yesterday, in the evening, Bablu Dey and Tarun Joardar were standing by Buxa Feeder Road at Damanpur Chowpathi, 7km from Alipurduar town.

“Suddenly, a speeding white Mahindra pick-up van swerved to one side and knocked them down,” said Swapan Bhattacharjee, the secretary of the Buxa Firewood Dealers’ Association. “We know the vehicle. East Damanpur range office has been using it without papers ever since it was seized.”

Bhattacharjee added that Dey (45) died in Alipurduar Hospital, while Joardar has been shifted to Siliguri in critical condition. “There were a number of eyewitnesses to the accident. The forest department must pay compensation to the family of the deceased and bear the expenses of Tarun’s treatment.”

“The accusations are unfounded,” said A.P. Singh, the deputy field director of Buxa Tiger Reserve (West). “None of our vehicles was involved in an accident yesterday and we never use any seized vehicle. There is no question of giving any compensation to the victims.”

A white Mahindra pick-up van was spotted on the East Damanpur range office campus today.

Alipurduar additional superintendent of police K.B. Dorji said an investigation has begun.