Massive anti-encroachment drive in Amakhujari forest; tear gas canister accidentally bursts during operation

In a massive crackdown, a joint team of forest, revenue and police departments cleared approximately 200 acres of forest land from encroachment in Amakhujari forest of Khandwa district on Monday. The operation, which lasted about six hours, saw the deployment of 600 officials and employees along with 30 JCB machines.

The action came a day after a team of 40 forest guards was attacked by encroachers when they attempted to stop illegal sowing in the same forest area. Eight forest staff were injured in Sunday's stone-pelting attack.

Monday's operation was conducted under heavy security cover. A 60-member contingent of women police personnel was also deployed to handle any potential resistance. The team carried tear gas shells for crowd control, though one canister accidentally burst due to the bumpy forest terrain, affecting some police personnel.

Administrative Officials Oversee Operation

District Collector Rishabh Gupta, Superintendent of Police Agam Jain, Additional SP Mahendra Taranekar and DFO Rakesh Kumar Damor were present at the site throughout the operation.

The encroachers had cleared trees and shrubs from the forest land and planted maize crops. The team used JCB machines to dig large contours across the area, making it impossible for encroachers to prepare fields or carry out sowing in the future.

Timber, Beds Seized from 13 Huts

Encroachers had built 13 temporary huts inside the forest. When the team demolished these structures, they recovered valuable teak wood logs and wooden beds (khatiyas). The seized material is being transported to the forest department office in tractors.

DFO Rakesh Kumar Damor said that after Sunday's stone-pelting incident, an FIR was registered and action has been taken against nine individuals.

Officer Injured in Bike Accident

Forest guard Pankaj Porwal, who was deployed in the Khalwa range, was called in from Burhanpur for the operation. While riding his bike to Amakhujari, he slipped near Gudi and fell, sustaining head injuries. He was initially taken to the district hospital but was later referred to Indore due to the severity of his injuries.

Sunday's Attack: Women Used as Shields

On Sunday, when the forest team arrived to clear the encroachment, nearly 400 encroachers attacked them. Women were pushed to the front and used as shields while the attackers pelted stones using slingshots (gofan). The forest guards were also attacked with sticks.

Eight forest guards suffered injuries in the attack. Some suffered head injuries while others had their ears cut. All injured were admitted to the district hospital.

The injured guards have been identified as Jwala Singh, Romank Nayak, Shailendra Yadav, Rajendra Singh Saktawat, Rajendra Bagdi, Pradeep Baghel, Chandrapal Tomar and Rahul Lodhi. They are part of a special flying squad recruited in 2025 to prevent encroachment in forests.

Allegations of Delayed Response

Injured forest workers have alleged that they did not receive help for nearly two hours after the attack. They claimed that police and ambulances did not arrive on time.

Massive Deployment for Monday's Operation

Around 600 employees from forest, revenue and police departments reached Amakhujari in approximately 200 vehicles, including both four-wheelers and two-wheelers. Additional SP Mahendra Taranekar confirmed that the police deployment included 14 officers and 200 personnel, while 400 forest staff participated in the operation.

"Due to moisture in the morning, there was some difficulty in removing the encroachment. About 30% of the encroachment has been cleared so far. There is no resistance at the moment," Taranekar said.