Three Madhya Pradesh forest officials allegedly assaulted in Rajasthan
The confrontation in Karauli district began after a dispute over compensation for a buffalo calf killed by a cheetah.
Three forest personnel from the Kuno Wildlife Forest Division were allegedly assaulted and detained by villagers in Rajasthan’s Karauli district, according to Urban Acres.
The incident occurred near the KGP-3 canal in Chandeli Pura gram panchayat under the Mandrayal police station jurisdiction. The tracking team had arrived to monitor the movement of a cheetah, KGP-3, after it reportedly killed a male buffalo calf.
Kuno forest guard Alok Prajapati, 34, filed a complaint stating that an elderly villager sought compensation for the livestock loss. Prajapati alleged that the man mobilised several other villagers who then attacked him, used caste-based slurs, and threatened him with an axe.
The complaint further claims that the villagers threw stones at the cheetah and made threats to kill the animal and the tracking team. Mandrayal police have registered a case under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including criminal intimidation and assault against a public servant.
Wildlife activist Ajay Dubey has questioned the security provided to personnel monitoring cheetahs outside protected areas. He has requested intervention from the chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, as well as the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
The Mandrayal police are currently investigating the complaint.