Balasore: Chaotic scenes were witnessed as irate villagers clashed with Forest personnel and gheraoed them after an elderly woman was allegedly assaulted a female guard in Nilagiri in Odisha's Balasore district. 

The angry locals stormed the Gopalpur beat office, which comes under Nilagiri forest range, and beseiged the area questioning the high-handedness of the ground staff. They also alleged atrocities meted out to villagers for innocuous acts of survival.

Elderly woman 'assaulted' for breaking tree branch for goats

As per reports, one elderly woman Katimani Singh had gone to the nearby forest to graze goats. While browsing the jungle, she broke a couple of twigs for the livestock. On seeing this, the female guard rushed towards her, snatched the tree branch and started beating the woman it. 

When the incident came to light, protest erupted in the village. Outraged at the abuse faced by the Forest department staff, hundreds of villagers beseiged the beat house. The female forest guard, who was accused of attacking the elderly woman, tried to save herself from the mob by locking herself inside the beat house. But the agitation snowballed into a full-fledged clash after her husband manhandled few women trying to break into the office. 

Ajodhya police, on being alerted, rushed to the scene and tried to bring the situation under control. The villagers, however, refused to be placated. They demanded justice and immediate transfer of the guard. The protesters also questioned as to why they are treated like criminals for basic survival while the Department turns a blind eye to timber mafias.

Also read: BJD Parliamentary Party petitions NCW seeking action against Nilagiri MLA