Six men were booked by the Andhra Pradesh police on Wednesday after they were caught on camera assaulting a forest officer on Tuesday at Sunnipenta in the Nallamalla Tiger Reserve.
The accused were angry because the forest officer, Jyothi Swaroop, stopped them as they were drinking alcohol in the forest area and creating a ruckus near the road.
The six people were said to be on their way to Srisailam from Hyderabad, reportedly to have a darshan of the presiding deity at the town's Mallikarjuna Temple.
The video shows the accused repeatedly slapping the forest officer, demanding that he touch their feet, because he interrupted them. As he was being thrashed, the forest officer managed to escape and run for shelter, before approaching the police and filing a formal complaint later.
One of the accused stated that he was related to a former MLC from Telangana, a claim denied by the politician, who demanded strict action against the person who claimed so.
Watch the video below.
Speaking to reporters, the forest officer said, "I was on patrolling duty when I saw an SUV with six people consuming alcohol. I approached them and told them that this was a reserve forest area and they could not drink there. They immediately began threatening and intimidating me before assaulting me."
The accused were identified to be hailing from Hyderabad and five of them have been detained by the police. One of them is said to be absconding.
Srisailam Tiger Reserve director Saravanan told ToI, “It is very disturbing. The officer joined only a month ago. Alcohol consumption is prohibited in public places and forest area. It happened right in front of our tiger project office in Sunnipenta.”
According to reports, a case has been registered under Sections Sections 323 (Voluntarily causing hurt), 342 (Wrongful confinement), 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 506 (Criminal intimidation) of the IPC. The vehicle was also seized.