Bihar forest officer, driver thrashed for stopping Mahua-laden truck in Kaimur

Kaimur divisional forest officer Chanchal Prakasham said Kunal Kumar and driver, Raj Kumar, sustained multiple head injuries in the attack

BHABUA: A group of men attacked a forest officer and his driver on Monday evening after they intercepted a vehicle in the Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary that was transporting Mahua flowers used to make illicit liquor, people familiar with the matter said.

Adhaura police station SHO Nirmal Kumar said raids were being conducted to track down and arrest the suspects (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Kaimur divisional forest officer (DFO) Chanchal Prakasham said forester Kunal Kumar and his driver, Raj Kumar, sustained multiple head injuries in the attack and are being treated at the Benaras Hindu University Trauma Centre in Varanasi 100km from Bhabua.

Citing Kunal Kumar’s statement to the police, Prakasham said the two were returning from the Bhabua divisional office on Monday evening when they saw a Mahua-laden pick-up truck on the Bhabua- Adhaura road near Garhake village. The forest team chased the truck and forced it to stop near the Adhaura bus stand at 7.15pm.

The forest official said the vehicle was linked to a local gang known as the Khan brothers. Sagir Khan, his three sons, Ayub, Mahmood, Maqsood, his nephew Naga Khan and associate Suhail Alam brutally thrashed the forest officer and his driver.

A person familiar with the matter said criminal syndicates illegally bought Mahua from tribals at cheap rates from the sanctuary area and made a profit selling it to illicit breweries in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh. They also smuggled the country-made liquor from UP into Bihar where it was sold at a premium.

Manufacture, consumption, and possession of liquor is an offence in Bihar since 2016.

Wildlife activist Om Prakash Pandey said that the forest mafia was backed by a leader of the ruling coalition in the state and was known to threaten and attack ground-level functionaries of the forest and police department.

Adhaura police station chief Nirmal Kumar said a case of attempt to murder had been registered against the accused under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code including sections 307 (attempt to murder), 323 (causing hurt), and 353 (using criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty).

Kumar added that raids were being conducted to track down the accused.