Man arrested for assaulting forest officer in Jajpur district

Kendrapada: A 34-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly attacking a forest officer in Jajpur district while forest personnel were attempting to drive out a herd of elephants from villages under Tamaka forest range.Manguli Charan Sai, forester of Tamaka range, lodged an FIR on Monday against the accused, Ganyaranjan Mohapatra, alleging that he and other forest personnel were attempting to drive out a herd of elephants that had entered the villages from a nearby forest in Dhenkanal district on Sunday afternoon. Suddenly, the accused approached, abused and assaulted him. He also tore the shirt of the forest officer. “Acting on the complaint of the forester, we launched an investigation and arrested the accused under sections 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 221 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 132 (act of assaulting or using criminal force to deter a public servant from performing their lawful duty), 296 (obscene language), and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of BNS,” said Pramodini Sahoo, IIC of Tamaka police station.“The accused was produced in a local court on Tuesday, which rejected his bail application and remanded him in judicial custody,” said Sahoo.Frequent raids by elephants on paddy and vegetable fields, banana and jackfruit orchards have triggered panic among many people in Tamaka forest range, leading many locals to block roads demanding that forest officials take proper steps to drive out the animals. “During the agitation, some persons abused and attacked forest officials,” said a local.While forest officials claimed to have taken steps to avoid human-animal conflict by creating awareness, locals said they have done little despite frequent incursions of wild elephants. Farmers are worried over the wild elephant menace.“The pachyderms have been roaming in surrounding villages. A forest team has been deployed in the villages as a protective measure. We are trying to drive the herds of elephants out by beating drums and lighting fires. Locals should cooperate with us in our work. It is illegal and unjust for anyone to attack forest officials while they are doing their duties,” said Sai.