Cuttack: Six forest personnel, arrested for allegedly lynching a suspected poacher while in the custody of Badamba forest range under Cuttack’s Athgarh division, will be suspended within 48 hours, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF), Odisha, Debidutta Biswal informed on Thursday.
The arrested include Range officer Subrat Behera, foresters Manoj Das and Deepak Sethi and three forest guards, Sunayak Pradhan, Kuna Behera and Pravat Pradhan. They have been booked under Sections 302, 341, 294, and 506 of the IPC and Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act. Police have also seized a four-wheeler and two sticks allegedly used in the assault.
According to sources, the divisional forest officer (DFO) will suspend the five staff and recommend the Forest Department’s headquarters to initiate similar action against the ranger.
Notably, 14 forest personnel were detained by Athagarh police after villagers alleged that they had beaten Dhaneswar Behera of Khuntakata village to death. While six were arrested for her alleged direct involvement in assaulting the suspected poacher to elicit information about the killing of an elephant, eight forest personnel, including two assistant conservators of forests, were let off with a warning after two-day interrogation.
Behera succumbed to injuries on Monday after allegedly being assaulted by the forest staff inside a watch tower in Khuntuni forest under Athagarh forest division. The 59-year-old man was picked up on Saturday along with another Rajkishor Pradhan, who later said he managed to escape.
