Naxal fear haunts forest guards in Gadchiroli

Nagpur: The thrashing of three forest guards on Wednesday by Naxals near Kawande nullah on Chhattisgarh-Maharashtra border between Nelgonda and Laheri in Gadchiroli has instilled fear among the forest guards and foresters who have to patrol the deep forests. The incident has revived fear of Naxalites in the district where the rebels have launched ‘anti-displacement’ stir from May 1 to 30 targeting government machinery.
The three forest guards, identified as CG Gurnule, DM Devkarte and RD Hichami, were beaten by four women Naxal cadres who warned them of dire consequences if they were spotted again in the forests. The Naxals also took away cell phones of the forest guards, who belonged to the Bhamragarh division, and deleted data from the handset. It is learnt the Naxals expressed their disapproval of forest guards and foresters patrolling deeper in their strongholds suspecting them of relaying information to security forces regarding the presence and movement of the dalams.
It is learnt this was the second time that Gurnule had been targeted. The forest guards, consulting their association, lodged a formal complaint at the Dhondraj Armed outpost. The forest guards, through their association Maharashtra Vanrakshak Vanpal Sanghathna, Nagpur, has also appealed to the Naxalites to spare forest staff. “We are deployed to ensure the forest is maintained and protected. There is no connection between us and any security agency,” said district president of the association Yogesh Sherekar. He said Naxalites should understand that senior officers were compelling them to go deep into the forest without considering heightened threat prevailing there. “We have no security or safety but are forced to do our duties in helpless and defenceless manner,” said Sherekar.
Mohan Khobragade, range forest officer, Bhamragarh, said forest guards and foresters were risking lives to attend duties but we could not equip them with arms as that would make them even more vulnerable. “The zone is Naxal affected and so there are certain threats that come along with the place itself. The only strong remedy seems to be to practice caution,” he said.
Rebels block Sironcha-Gadchiroli Road
Traffic was disrupted after Naxalites, who are observing two days Bandh in region they call Dandakaranya, blocked the Sironcha-Gadchiroli road for several hours on Thursday. The rebels also put up several banners across the district appealing to make their ‘anti-displacement’ agitation stronger against the corporate giants who want to carry out mining and other activities in the district.
The Naxals claimed in a statement that their attack on former MLA Deepak Atram’s bodyguard was to loot his firearms and had nothing to do with ideology of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar as projected by police against them. The Naxals had gunned down Atram’s police guard before fleeing with his assault rifle on the day of Ambedkar jayanti.