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HomeIndiaTelangana forest officer attacked by mob ‘led’ by brother of TRS MLA 

Telangana forest officer attacked by mob ‘led’ by brother of TRS MLA 

Officer was carrying out state govt’s mass tree plantation drive the she was attacked by mob allegedly led by brother of TRS MLA Koneru Konappa.

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New Delhi: A woman forest range officer carrying out an afforestation drive in Telangana was attacked Sunday by a mob allegedly led by the brother of a Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) MLA.  

In videos of the attack that have gone viral, range officer Chole Anitha can be seen being violently attacked by a mob armed with lathis at Telangana’s Kagaznagar. 

— T S Sudhir (@Iamtssudhir) June 30, 2019

Anitha has named TRS leader Koneru Krishna Rao, who is also the brother of the Kagaznagar MLA Koneru Konappa, as the person to have led the attack on her. A tribal range officer in the forest department, Anitha is reportedly undergoing treatment at a private hospital. 

The Telangana Police told ThePrint that Rao has been arrested.  

Officer was carrying out govt initiative

According to a report in the Bangalore Mirror, Anitha had gone to Sarsala forest village in Kagaznagar to plough a 20-acre piece of land under a mass tree plantation drive called Haritha Haram — the state government’s ambitious plantation program.


Also read: Environment minister Harsh Vardhan wants forest officers inducted into tribal affairs ministry


According to the same report, Krishna Rao had arrived on the spot after being alerted by some villagers of the forest department’s activity. According to Rao, the land where the department was trying to carry out the afforestation activity belonged to farmers.

In the video, Anitha can be seen attacked by more than 10-15 people with lathis, even as she tries to protect herself by climbing atop a tractor. The police look on until the woman officer falls from the tractor — injured and whimpering in pain.

Speaking to ThePrint, ADG Jitender said police were in fact very prompt in taking action, and that Rao has already been apprehended. A team has additionally been formed to apprehend the other accused as well, he said.

TRS leader Kadiyam Srihari refused to comment on the matter.

Forest officers seek better security

While the attack is now doing the rounds all over social media, with condemnations pouring in, it is not uncommon for forest staff to be encounter several dangerous situations in their line of duty – including attacks by angry villagers, encroachers, poachers, among others.

 

 

Officers from the Indian Forest Service have been demanding more government protection for forest staff, whose job entails dangers like dodging forest fires, mitigating man-animal conflicts, combating illegal activity and encountering wild animals on a daily basis. In addition, they have to grapple with the problem of complete state apathy.


Also read: The woman forest guard who stared a tiger down for 90 minutes, and lived to tell the tale


Earlier this year, after a spate of attacks on forest staffs across the country, the IFS Association had tweeted that there is a need for systemic reforms to improve the security of forest officials — a demand that has so far fallen on deaf ears.

“In this case also, she is carrying out the state government’s program… So is it not the state government’s job to ensure her protection?” said an IFS officer who did not want to be named. “This case will get more eyeballs because of the political angle but the fact is that our staff face these kind of dangers everyday with little or no recognition.”

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