Kothagudem: Forest officers’ body condemns attack on staff in Manuguru

The Junior Forest Officers Association condemned the attack on forest staff in Manuguru, alleging they were being victimised for performing their duties. Meanwhile, a forest beat officer was suspended and a three-member committee was formed to enquire into the incident.

Kothagudem: The Junior Forest Officers Association strongly condemned the recent attack on forest officials at Manubothulapadu in Aswapuram mandal and felt that the forest staff was being victimised for performing its duties.

It may be recalled that migrant Adivasi podu farmers clashed with forest personnel in the Manuguru forest range on Friday when the personnel were engaged in trench-digging works. Some forest staff and Adivasis suffered minor injuries in the incident.

---

Several political parties and Minister Seethakka found fault with the forest staff over the incident and demanded action against them, while some sections posted objectionable comments along with video clips of the incident on social media.

Association’s Manuguru unit president V Govind said migrant Guthikoyas obstructed the work of forest officials and resorted to physical assault, but false propaganda and baseless allegations were spread against the forest officials on social media platforms.

The association sought strict action against those who compromised the safety of forest officials and those who undermined the officials’ morale through false propaganda.

Meanwhile, District Forest Officer (DFO) Siddharth Vikram Singh said the department had taken a serious view of the incident as well as the videos circulating in the media and on social media. The department attached utmost importance to the dignity and safety of every citizen, especially women.

At the same time, there was a need to impartially examine the entire sequence of events leading up to the incident shown in the videos, the obstruction caused to government work, and the alleged assault on uniformed forest personnel.

A forest beat officer seen in the video during the scuffle with a woman was placed under suspension pending an enquiry. A three-member enquiry committee, chaired by the Kinnerasani Forest Divisional Officer, with the Chandrugonda and Yanambail Forest Range Officers as members, has been constituted.

The original videos, photographs, medical reports and official records were being preserved and submitted to the enquiry committee. In future, sensitive field activities would be conducted only with adequate advance planning, police coordination, deployment of female personnel and continuous official video recording, the DFO added.