KOTHAGUDEM: Three forest beat officers were thrashed and one of them tied to a tree in D-Kothuru forest in the limits of Chintaguppa village of Dummugudem mandal in Bhadradri district on Monday.
According to available details, the officers Sodi Rajesh, Hussain and Vijaya went to Compartment-46 in D-Kothuru forest beat area to level the 27-hectare forest land to raise seedlings in the coming Haritha Haram. They were there for trench cutting around the land to mark it as belonging to the forest. While they were on the job, taking the help of labourers of Chintaguppa and a dozer, the residents of Chintaguppa rushed to the spot and thrashed the forest officials alleging that they came to seize podu land from them. The locals asked them to leave the place.
At one stage, they tied Sodi Rajesh to a tree to create fear among them.
Later, the forest officials reached the police station in Dummugudem and lodged a complaint.
Circle inspector N Venkateswarlu took the complaint and started investigation. The forest officials identified some of the villagers, who had attacked them.
