Warangal: Villager beaten by official for picking dried twigs from forest

WARANGAL: Several villagers of Chalvai in Govindaraopet of Mulugu district on Sunday lodged a complaint against forest beat officer Kiran Kumar alleging that he had beaten a villager for collecting dried twigs from the forest to cremate a person whose last rites were being conducted on the day.

Gorla Saraiah said he was beaten on the abdomen, back and legs by the beat officer. He made a complaint to the police.

Villagers pointed out that forest officials did not take any action against the illegal sand mining taking place in the forest but use their power against innocent villagers.

“Daily, several tractors come and go into the forest area and illegally collect sand from the lake inside the forest. Officials turn a blind eye towards this mining. Today we needed dried twigs for cremating a person. The forest beat officer was rude and beat up one of us. Officials must take strict action against him and ensure that such incidents do not repeat,” said villager V. Sagar.

Forest officials deny beating up the villager. Forest section officer Sambaiah said the beat officer asked the villagers not to cut down healthy trees. However, the discussion resulted in a scuffle between the villagers and the beat officer in which both sides pushed each other. Police have registered a case in this regard and are investigating.