Six Forest Department personnel were injured when the jeep, in which they were chasing the vehicle of teakwood smugglers, overturned near Nellipaka in Bhadrachalam rural mandal around midnight on Saturday.
One forest beat officer and five helpers (contract employees), suffered multiple injuries in the incident.
Acting on specific information, a strike force comprising seven members headed by forest beat officer Vijaykumar swung into action to foil an attempt to smuggle teakwood from Kunarvaram forest area into Bhadrachalam in a vehicle. The forest personnel spotted a Tata Sumo vehicle carrying the smugglers near Nellipaka late in the night and started chasing the vehicle in their jeep amid heavy downpour. Their jeep turned turtle after slight collision with the Tata Sumo while trying to overtake it on the outskirts of Nellipaka.
Six forest personnel sustained injuries in the mishap.
Another member of the team escaped unhurt.
The Tata Sumo sped away under the cover of darkness soon after the incident.
The injured were rushed to the government area hospital in Bhadrachalam.
All the six injured are out of danger, said DFO (South), Bhadrachalam, S Kishan Das. Speaking to The Hindu , he said the hired jeep of the forest personnel skidded off the road and turned turtle in heavy rain while chasing the vehicle of smugglers. We have lodged a complaint in this regard with the local police and stepped up vigil to apprehend the absconding smugglers, he said.
