Tension in Adilabad as villagers attack forest officials

Villagers pelt stones at forest officials after they seize timber logs in Keshavapatnam village; officials run for cover

State Bureau

Adilabad: Tension prevailed for a while when some villagers allegedly pelted stones on forest officials and vandalised a vehicle after officials seized timber logs at Keshavapatnam village in Echoda mandal on Sunday.

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Forest officials said that a team of around 50 forest officials led by Utnoor FDO Revanth Chandra were carrying out raids on houses of certain suspects at the village known for felling teak trees and smuggling the timber, after receiving information about a huge dump of timber. Some residents began pelting stones on the officials, and damaged the windshield of a vehicle of the department resulting in the tension.

The officials said that some villagers surrounded the forest officials and partially damaged a windshield of an official vehicle for conducting the raids. Forest officials were forced to run for safety. No official sustained injury in the incident. A complaint will be lodged with the police. Timber worth Rs.3.5 lakh was seized during the raids.

Upon receiving information, about 20 policemen from Echoda rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control by pacifying the residents. The village has come under a thick blanket of security, following the incident.

The officials stated that a person was arrested for felling teak trees on Friday and 19 suspects were found to be committing the crime during the investigations. A major portion of the suspects were from Keshavapatnam, while a few belonged to Jogipet village. The raid was held to detect the suspects and unearth the dump.

Keshavapatnam and surrounding habitations are known for smuggling of teak timber. It was said that police were identifying the persons who revolted against the forest officials.