Summary:
Ranchi, May 6 (PTI) A 45-year-old man, who headed a village forest protection committee in Jharkhand’s Gumla district, was killed allegedly by a group of men on Friday after he protested the illegal felling of trees, police said.
Shamim Ansari (45), the president of Raikera forest committee, was beaten to death in Bharno police station by men involved in the illegal timber trade, they said.
Four persons have been arrested in connection with the incident, a senior police officer said.
"Ansari and a forest guard went to Raikera forest in the morning.
Around 10.30 am, he called to inform me about the seizure of logs.
I asked them to be careful and inform the police.
By 11 am, I got information that Ansari was brutally beaten to death with sticks by the villagers," divisional forest officer (DFO) Srikant Verma told PTI.
He said that Ansari was very dedicated to forest protection.
“As per the information I received from my staff on the ground, the forest guard, who was with Ansari, had asked him to escape as a large number of villagers were coming towards them.
Despite repeated requests, he did not leave the place, while the guard fled from the spot and protected himself,” the DFO said.
Sub-divisional officer (SDO) Ravi Anand said that Ansari was beaten to death after he stopped some people from cutting trees.
Gumla Superintendent of Police, Dr.
Ehtesham Waquarib told PTI "Four persons have been arrested so far in this connection.