Foresters plant trees at attack site in Asifabad

In Sarsala village of Kumram Bheem-Asifabad district, some 320 Forest Department officials, including several senior IFS officials, in a show of unity and strength, gathered at the village and took up tree plantation in the 20-hectare plot of land that was the site of Sunday’s attack. A large police contingent also accompanied the Forest Department officials to provide security.

Forest Range Officer Chole Anitha who sustained serious injuries in the attack, on Monday told reporters here that she fears for her life from politicians who attacked her and led and instigated the mob. “Once I am better and get back to work, I will be targeted and my life is under threat now. I want the government to give me a guarantee of my safety as I will be targeted by these politicians,” she said.

Meanwhile, the prime accused in the attack, Koneru Krishna Rao, brother of MLA Koneru Konappa,



along with 13 others, was remanded to judicial custody. They have been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code including attempt to murder.

Incidentally, following the videos of the attack that stormed social media on Sunday, another one began making the rounds subsequently in which Koneru Konappa can be seen and heard attempting to tutor some villagers from Sarsala to tell mediapersons and police that Forest Department staff had been attacking them and beating them up for the past 15 days.

Even as forest officials cutting across ranks demanded that the accused also be booked under PD Act, data on the scale of encroachment of forest land in the State, revealed some interesting findings. Nearly 11 per cent of the forest area, 26,90,370 hectares of the total forest area of 2,94,693 hectares, is in the grip of encroachers.