Trees illegally felled in government forest areas of Ropar district have been traced to two katha units in neighbouring Hoshiarpur district, with the forest authorities confiscating 500 logs so far in connection with the case.Sources said 350 logs were seized from a katha unit in the Nara area of Hoshiarpur, while another 150 logs were recovered from the Talwara katha unit. The wood confiscated from Talwara has already been transported back to Ropar, whereas the 350 logs seized from the Nara unit are still lying there.Sources, meanwhile, said the scale of illegal felling in government forests of Ropar district had widened, with the number of trees cut rising to around 900. Several forest areas in Jhandian village near Ropar were yet to be inspected, and the figure was likely to increase further after verification, they added.Range Officer Raj Davinder Singh, who is investigating the case, confirmed that khair trees illegally felled in Ropar had been traced to the Nara and Talwara katha units. Further action was being taken in the matter, he added.The police have registered an FIR against a forest guard and two private individuals for allegedly felling a large number of trees from government forests in the district.The illegal felling was first reported by The Tribune. Taking suo motu cognisance of the report, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau has also initiated an inquiry into the matter.According to the FIR, the case relates to illegal cutting of khair and other trees from forest areas in Fatehpur, Bhangala and Bagwali beats of the Ropar forest range.The accused have been identified as Mukesh Singh, a resident of Midwa village in the Anandpur Sahib area; Bahadur Singh, a resident of Bhangala village; and Narendra Singh, a forest guard posted in Ropar, who has since been placed under suspension.Inspection of the forests revealed that at least 219 khair trees were illegally felled from the Fatehpur and Bagwali forest areas, while nearly 300 dry trees were found to have been cut from Bhangala forest.Forest officials alleged that the illegal activity was carried out under the guise of authorised harvesting.Found in Hoshiarpur500 khair trees illegally felled in Ropar traced to two katha units in Hoshiarpur districtFIR names forest guard, two private individuals; Vigilance inquiry initiatedIllegal felling masked as authorised harvesting; activity ongoing at inspection time