Kokrajhar/Guwahati A few forest employees were injured after a mob attacked the office of the Ronikhata group in Assam’s Chirang district on Friday after a few locals were arrested for alleged encroachment on reserved forest land, officials said.
The mob reportedly ransacked the forest reserve office and set fire to government vehicles inside the building located near the Bhutan border.
Senior police officers rushed to the spot to control the situation as locals tried to block the road by burning furniture from the forest office and laying stones.
A forest member told reporters that a few of his colleagues were injured in the chaos.
“The mob vandalized the forest office and residential areas and set fire to vehicles in the building,” he added.
An official said tensions erupted after forest personnel arrested some local residents on Thursday over illegal cutting and clearing of forest land in the Rebo-Chirang Reserve Forest, which falls under the Skhna Juholau National Park along the Indo-Bhutan border in Chirang district.
As a mob stormed the forest office on Thursday evening, demanding unconditional release of the detained persons, they dispersed without violence.
However, a mob armed with sticks and other similar weapons gathered on Friday morning and went on a rampage, alleging that forest staff had assaulted them the previous day, injuring two women protesters.
Local residents demanded action against the forest staff involved in the alleged assault and raised slogans, even as the local police and civil administration tried to control the situation.
A senior police officer urged the protesters to bring their allegations against the forest staff to the administration.
He asked them to evacuate the area, and said: “Give the local administration enough time to investigate your allegations. Closing the road and damaging government property is not a solution.”
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