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1 dead, 7 hurt in clash between forest guards and ‘encroachers’ in Assam
A 35-year-old woman was killed and seven others were injured in a clash between alleged encroachers and forest guards in Sonitpur district of Assam, police said on Monday.
A 35-year-old woman was killed and seven others were injured in a clash between alleged encroachers and forest guards in Sonitpur district of Assam, police said on Monday.
The incident took place at an evicted land in Burhachapori Wildlife Sanctuary late on Sunday night. Police said some forest officials were also injured in the incident.
According to the police, forest officials received information about some alleged encroachers returning to the evicted land in the sanctuary, following which a team reached the spot to inspect the situation.
Local police officers said that the group of alleged encroachers clashed with forest officials and even attacked them with sharp objects. “In response, our team fired in air to disperse them. While many ran away, some of them sustained injuries and they were taken to a government hospital,” a forest official said, requesting anonymity.
Following the incident, six people were shifted to the hospital, where doctors declared the 35-year-old woman dead on arrival. She was later identified as Rahima Khatun, police said.
Forest officials said that the group of people came to allegedly encroach on forest land. They even started building huts in the evicted land in a bid to occupy it once again, said the official cited above.
The group of villagers, however, claimed they were taking shelter in the highland of the forest because their houses in nearby villages have been inundated due to flood.
The Assam government has been conducting eviction drives in encroached areas of various forests across the state. However, according to police, some attempts of people returning to encroached areas have been reported in some parts.
