Man sets fire in reserved forest area, held

Kolhapur: A man was arrested by the forest department on charge of setting fire in the reserved jungle area near Mauje Kasani village in Satara, affecting around four hectares of the forest land.Range forest officer Sandeep Jopale, while talking to TOI, said, "Forest guard Prakash Shinde from Rohot range was roaming in the Kasani (FC No. 268) area during a regular patrol when he saw the accused — Sakharam Kondiba Badapure — setting fire to the forest area. Shinde immediately relayed the information to us and accordingly, the accused was arrested."He added, "A case was registered against him under section 26 (1) (b) (f) of the Indian Forest Act, 1927. The accused has confessed to the crime. The forest area set on fire was brought under control after a lot of effort. As per the provision for this offence, the accused can be punished with imprisonment of up to one year or a fine up to Rs5,000, or both."The forest officials have appealed to the citizens to report such crimes to the forest department.