At least two police constables, about eight forest staff and two villagers were injured in the attack.
[Representational Photo : iStock]
In a glaring incident of encroachment and illegal felling on forestland, more than 300 miscreants armed with bows, arrows and slingshots attacked a team of police and forest officials, resulting in serious injuries to more than a dozen people.
The incident occurred today morning in the jungles of Ghaagarla, about 30 km from the headquarters of the Burhanpur district in Madhya Pradesh.
According to officials, the villagers had complained about illegal activities in the jungles for the past few days. Acting on those reports, more than 200 personnel of the police and forest department were stationed in the village.
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Today morning, a joint team of police, forest and local villagers went into the jungles to chase away the encroachers.
However, the miscreants attacked the team with bows and arrows and traditional slingshots with stones.
At least two police constables, about eight forest staff and two villagers were injured in the attack. All the injured were rushed to a hospital for treatment. The goons also pelted stones and damaged some government vehicles of the team.
On receiving the information, Burhanpur SP Rahul Kumar Lodha, Collector Bhavya Mittal, DFO Anupam Sharma and other officers rushed to the spot. Additional force was also requisitioned from nearby police stations.
The enraged villagers demanded immediate and strict action against the encroachers and jungle mafia.
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