Gumla (Jharkhand): Angry villagers lynched Shamim Ansari (42), the president of the forest committee, on Friday when he had gone to the jungle, along with forest guard Naval Kishore, to stop villagers from felling trees. Peeved over this, villagers lynched Shamim Ansari, a resident of Raikera Bandhtoli, under Bharno police station area in Gumla district of Jharkhand, while injured forest guard Naval Kishore fled the spot and took refuge in the woods. Later, he was rescued by the police.
The probe into the matter has begun. Besides, police arrested a dozen villagers in this connection. President of the Forest Committee Shamim Ansari was entrusted with the task of keeping a watchful eye on the illegal felling of trees. On Friday, some villagers were involved in cutting trees. Shamim informed the forest department about the illegal cutting of trees and then ventured into the forest, along with the guard Naval Kishore, to stop the illegal activities.
Later, a heated exchange took place between villagers and Shamim when the latter was preventing them from cutting trees. The villagers then rained lathis on Shamim. He was then rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. Police sent the body of the deceased for autopsy at Gumla Sadar Hospital. Forest guard Naval Kishore was also injured in the incident, somehow managed to escape from the spot and took refuge deep inside the jungle, said police sources. After receiving the information, CO Sanjeev Kumar, Inspector Shyamanand Mandal, SHO Krishna Kumar Tiwari, and a large number of people reached Bharno hospital. Police arrested a dozen people in this connection. Meanwhile, the arrested villagers are being interrogated.
