Two forest department personnel were injured after a team allegedly came under attack while trying to stop ploughing on encroached forest land in Nivahi village of Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district, with police registering a case and searching for the suspects.
The incident took place around 11.30 pm on Sunday in the Shahgarh area, according to forest officials. The team had reached the village after receiving information that several people were allegedly using a tractor to plough forest land at night. Officials said the staff intended to stop the activity and seize the tractor when a group of about eight to 10 people allegedly attacked them with sticks and stones.
Deputy ranger Shailendra Kumar Tiwari sustained a serious head injury, while forest guard Narayan Singh Paliya was also injured. Both were initially taken to the Shahgarh health centre and later referred to the district hospital. Tiwari remains under treatment, the report said.
A video of the incident has surfaced on social media. The footage purportedly shows a tractor moving towards people attempting to stop it, while its rear wheel appears to run over a person. The identity of the person seen in the video is not clear, and the circumstances leading to that part of the incident are under investigation.
According to the report, forest officials confirmed that their personnel had been assaulted during the operation. Shahgarh police registered a case on a complaint filed by the forest department against three Nivahi residents: Hariram Yadav, Amit Yadav and Harendra Yadav. The charges relate to assault and obstruction of government officials on duty.
Police said teams had been deployed to trace the suspects and seize the tractor. The investigation will also establish who was allegedly run over in the video and determine the sequence of events during the confrontation.
The incident highlights the risks faced by field-level officials when enforcement teams attempt to prevent the cultivation or occupation of land under forest administration. Such operations depend on personnel working at night, responding to information from local areas and asserting government control over disputed or allegedly encroached land. In this case, the immediate enforcement effort escalated into injuries, alleged obstruction and a police investigation.
The police action is proceeding alongside medical treatment for the injured forest officials. Authorities are expected to establish the identities of all those involved, recover the tractor and clarify the allegations based on witness accounts, the video footage and other evidence collected during the investigation.
