Forest staff forum seeks inquiry into violence

November 27, 2013 02:42 pm | Updated November 16, 2021 07:53 pm IST - Kozhikode

The Kerala Forest Protective Staff Association (KFPSA) has demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the arson and rioting in the rural areas on November 15.

The association alleged that the attack on the offices and vehicles of forest departments at Kottiyoor, Thamarassery, and Wayanad were carried out by the forest mafia, quarry, and sand lobbies with the support of certain political and religious outfits.

The protesters attacked the office, vehicles, and quarters of the Forest department, which had no role whatsoever in the implementation of the report. Important files pertaining to cases of encroachment on forest land were gutted in the fire when miscreants set ablaze the forest office, the association president M.V. Baby and general secretary N. Sreekumar, said.

The association also urged the State government to take steps to improve the security of the forest personnel. Cases of attack on forest staff or preventing them from performing their duty should be charged with Section 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servants from discharge of duty) of the Indian Penal Code.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.