4 held, 20 booked for attacking foresters near Tipeshwar

Nagpur: The Pandharkawda police have arrested four persons and registered FIR against 20 villagers for rioting, manhandling and abusing forest staff posted to monitor tigers in villages around Tipeshwar wildlife sanctuary.
Tiger scare was reported for the last four months in Sunna, Andharwadi, Kopai, Kopamandi and Kobbai villages close to the sanctuary. There were at least 14 cattle and three goat kills for which compensation was delayed.
Deputy conservator of forests (DyCF) KM Abharna said, “Only Rs 4 lakh is pending towards cattle kill and crop damage compensation since June this year. Over Rs 1.5 crore were paid as last year dues.”
However, locals alleged despite lakhs of rupees lying with the eco-development committee (EDC) villages, no works have been done to benefit these villages.
“We submitted proposals for solar fencing to farms but it was never done. Areas where fencing was done have already been dismantled. The forest department should allow grazing in the sanctuary or ensure tigers don’t venture near their villages,” they said.
Lack of quick interventions through EDCs seems to have led to flaring up of situation on Thursday when cattle kill was reported on the outskirts of Kobbai village. Infuriated mob of villagers picked up stones and sticks to shoo away the tigress and her two sub-adult cubs that had come to feed on the cattle carcass.
The villagers were not ready to listen and in process they manhandled women forest staff and pelted stones at the tigers and chased them. They also detained forest staff.
The forest officials have also registered preliminary offence reports (PORs) against unidentified culprits under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and on the basis of video footage of these persons they are being identified.
“We will arrest them soon and take legal action,” said Pandharkawda forest officials. Meanwhile, on a complaint lodged by RFO Sangeeta Kokne, police booked Amardeep Sidam, Vilas Sodsam, Parshuram Kumre, Santosh Kumre, Mahendra Korche, Kailash Todsam, Shiva Todsam and Shambhudeo Todsam.