Nine booked for attacking forest officials

Rajkot: Nine persons were booked for allegedly attacking forest officials in a village of Sutrapada taluka in Gir Somnath district on Friday. The FIR was lodged by in-charge forester Kiran Joshi.

According to Joshi’s complaint, he got information that absconding accused Amad Bhesaliya booked under Wildlife Protection Act was seen at his home in Bhesaliya’s village on June 24. When Joshi and his team reached the village, the family members of the accused including with his wife, parents, brother, brother-in-law and others attacked them with sticks, pipe and other shape-edge weapons.

Some forest officials suffered minor injuries during the attack by the kin of the accused, who also threatened to kill them. Bhesaliya is accused of hunting and setting up traps to catch wild animals in the forest.

On Friday night Joshi registered a complaint against nine people under various sections of the Indian IPC sections including preventing government officers from discharging duty.