MP News: Villagers Chase, Beat Forest Team With Sticks, Vandalise Vehicles During Encroachment Drive In Sheopur-- VIDEO

Sheopur (Madhya Pradesh): A forest department team was brutally beaten with sticks during an encroachment removal drive on Tuesday in Sheopur district.

The encroachers surrounded the officials, assaulted them, and vandalised their vehicles, forcing the team to flee to save their lives.

A video of the attack has surfaced on social media. One forest guard, Hira Lal Sen, was seriously injured.

Watch the video below :

He later filed a complaint at Awada police station, stating that the team was removing encroachments and carrying out plantation work when a large group of local villagers reached the spot and attacked them.

According to report Forest Guard Hira Lal Sen has filed a complaint at the Awada police station. He stated that he and his team were removing encroachments and carrying out plantation work in Masawani when a large number of local villagers arrived at the spot.

They started protesting against the removal of encroachments. After an altercation, they began assaulting the forest officials. Due to the sudden attack, the forest department team had to abandon their work and retreat.

Forest Guard Hira Lal Sen said that the attackers not only assaulted the forest officials but also targeted the departmental vehicles. They broke the windows of the vehicles with stones and sticks, severely damaging them. Awada Police Station In-charge Rahul Rajput said that an application has been received from the Forest Department. An investigation has been launched into the matter.

The police are identifying the attackers. The extent of the damage is being assessed. Meanwhile, Forest Department officials have expressed concern over the safety of field staff and demanded that police force should be mandatorily deployed during such sensitive operations in the future.