Telangana: Orders probe into misbehavior with tribal women after complaint
The tribal women managed to escape from the spot and reached their village by evening. There he told the whole thing to the sarpanch. A complaint was lodged in the police station with the help of the sarpanch.
Police in Telangana’s Bhadradri Kothagudem district is investigating a complaint lodged by four tribal women. In this complaint allegation of molesting a minor girl by the forest guard, and beating up of women.
Tribal women of Rajannagudem gram panchayat of Mulakalapalli block had lodged a complaint on Saturday. On the other hand, the Forest Guard also filed a counter complaint against the women, in which she said that the women have violated the forest rules and obstructed her work.
Mulaklapally’s assistant sub-inspector Tirumala Rao told Hindustan Times, “We are conducting a preliminary inquiry into both the complaints. We have not registered the case yet. We will do this after gathering the information.”
According to CPI (ML) state joint secretary Potu Ranga Rao, three tribal women and a 15-year-old girl, originally from Chhattisgarh, live in the forests of the district. On Friday afternoon, all of them had gone to the forest to collect firewood.
Ranga Rao alleges, “A forest guard, who saw him chop wood, shouted at him and when he replied back, he thrashed him. In an attempt to escape from him, the girl fell into a deep gorge and sustained injuries on her body. On the pretext of dragging her from the ditch, the forest guard tore her clothes and tried to molest her.”
The tribal women managed to escape from the spot and reached their village by evening. There he told the whole thing to the sarpanch. A complaint was lodged in the police station with the help of the sarpanch.
As the news spread, local Left activists and activists of the Women’s Progressive Organization (PoW) took out a rally in Mulaklapally town and demanded action against the Forest Guard.
State Tribal Welfare Minister Satyavati Rathod has ordered an inquiry.
“Tribal women used to go to the forest to fetch firewood for their domestic use. How can forest guards stop and beat them? The government will take strict action after a proper investigation,” Rathod said in a statement.
District Forest Officer Ranjit Naik said that the forest department has started investigation to ascertain the facts and appropriate action will be taken against the accused.
