Rumours trigger attack; forest officials beaten up in MP

A woman forest ranger and a forest guard were allegedly thrashed by local people who suspected them to be part of a gang of child-lifers in Singrauli district, police said.

The incident took place at Medholi village yesterday when Waidhan forest ranger Trusthi Singh and guard Brijesh Bagri were travelling in Singh's personal car, said Murwa area police inspector Narendra Raghuvanshi.

Both were in civil dress, he said.

According to the local people, they saw Singh's car coming to a halt around noon. Another car came from opposite direction, and a man got down from it and placed a bag on the ground, they told police.

The driver of Singh's car got out and picked up the bag, they alleged.

The villagers, already wary of strangers due to social media rumours about child-lifers' gangs being in the area, got suspicious, confronted Singh and Bagri, and thrashed them, inspector Raghuvanshi said.

The forest officials fled from the spot and went to the nearby police station to lodge a complaint.

The villagers got hold of the abandoned bag and brought it to the police station. When police opened the bag, they found Rs 1.50 lakh inside, inspector Raghuvanshi said.

Singh told police that she had got a tip-off about poachers moving around in the area, so she rushed to the village.

Someone was trying to frame her up with the cash, she told police, according to the inspector.

"We are investigating the case from all angles," Raghuvanshi said.

Three local men, identified as Ramesh Jaiswal, Guddu and Mantarjeet, were arrested for allegedly assaulting forest officials, he said.

On June 26, 38-year-old Rambharose was beaten up by a mob on the suspicion of being part of a gang of child-lifters in the district.

Police booked a man for allegedly spreading rumours about child lifters on social media following the incident.

Before that, a mob had attacked two men at Nevargaon in Balaghat district following social media rumours that 'kidney thieves' were moving around in the area.