Baripada: In a shocking incident, a lady forest officer allegedly made a pregnant woman do sit-ups and later thrashed her on mere suspicion of stealing timber from a forest in Mayurbhanj district on Friday.
The lady forest guard, who the victim named as Kavita, barged into her house at Barhapanapashi village to look for stolen timber, but found none. She then assaulted the victim’s mother. When the victim tried to intervene, the forest guard made her do nearly 20 sit-ups and then whipped her too.
The cruel act of the forest guard has left victim, who is pregnant with a fractured hand and severe abdominal cramps.
The family members of the victim have lodged a complaint at Karanjia police station.
To express their resentment over the gruesome incident, the villagers took to the street and blocked the Karanjia-Baripada main road by burning tyres. The protestors demanded arrest and suspension of the forest guard.
Dudhiani Ranger Saroj Kumar Panda told the media that he had already submitted a detailed report of the incident to the DFO. “Things will become clearer once the police inquiry gets completed,” he added.
Neither the police nor the accused forest guard was available for comments after the incident.
