Uneasy calm prevailed in Tiger Reserve Palamu when extremists belonging to a splinter group JJMP (Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad) slapped a forester of East Garu range on Friday evening in a forest there. The victim forester was on his duty supervising an upcoming multipurpose tower there.
Sources said about two dozen JJMP ultras reached the work site of the tower and then on identifying the forester, S Pathak, there they slapped him as a token of warning not to continue the construction of the tower.
Sources said the JJMP Naxals forbade the forester quite threateningly.
The JJMP ultras demanded that prior to the construction of this tower permission from JJMP ought to have been taken. The JJMP ultras handed down one contact number asking people at the construction site to speak to one of them on cell phone.
Sources said the arms twisting tactic of the JJMP is all for extraction of levy.
The multipurpose tower is coming up @ a cost of only 6 lakhs of rupees for the larger benefit of the tiger reserve as this tower and surveillance from here will contain and curb poaching, felling of trees, immediate action in the event of outbreak of forest fire etc.
Sources said the tower watching could also minimize intrusion by cattle owners.
MK Mahaling deputy director South division of PTR has confirmed the incident of slapping of forester S Pathak by the ultras of JJMP saying the Naxal outfit is putting this kind of pressure for levy.
PTR has a plan to build 100 such towers which could have fortified security and safety of this tiger reserve and its wild life but this Naxal outfit is throwing spanner into the plan.
Locals said the Naxals resist making of road , bridge and two or three storey building fearing that police may use such building as Morchas against them. Only last week a tractor was burnt down by extremists in the East Garu range. However in this burning of the tractor rivalry between two tractor owners has come to the fore.