Baripada: A pregnant lady in Mayurbhanj district was allegedly forced to do more than 20 sit-ups and also later thrashed by a forest guard on suspicion of stealing woods from the forest.
As per the allegations, a lady forest guard of Dudhiani range under Karanjia forest division (identified by the victim as Kavita), assaulted her and her elderly mother in Barhapanapashi village. She also reportedly brought them to her range office and thrashed them there too.The pregnant woman has sustained a fracture in one of her hands because of the beating and has also been complaining of stomach pain since the sit-ups.
Following the thrashing, family members of the pregnant woman lodged a complaint at Karanjia police station for physically assaulting them without any particular reason.
Describing her ordeal, the victim said, “Kavita madam came to our home searching for some stolen woods. When she couldn’t find any stolen items with us, she got angry and started thrashing my mother. When I objected, she thrashed me too. I kept pleading to release me as I am pregnant, but she beat me black and blue and I ended up with a broken hand.”
Speaking to OTV, Dudhiani Ranger Saroj Kumar Panda said, “I have already submitted a detailed report of the incident to DFO. All things will be clearer once the police enquiry gets completed.”
Following the incident, villagers took to street and blocked Karanjia-Baripada main road by placing burning tyres on the road.
A protestor said, “No law states to beat anybody up just going by the hunch. The forest guard could have arrested her if she had enough evidence against her. We demand the suspension and arrest of the lady forest guard as soon as possible.”
No comments could be obtained either from police or from the accused.