Forest officials arrested 26 people from the Kumram Bheem Asifabad district for allegedly promoting forest land on Saturday evening. They were made before the local court, which returned them to a 14 -day judgment.
According to the forest divisional officer (FDO) M. Ram Mohan, the accused tried to illegally occupy the forest soil in the Palaghori region (Compt. No. 249) Sonapur Thanda defeated under the leadership of the village of Kawal in Mancherial District. The Kawal Forest Block was declared a booked forest (RF) in 1350 Fasli (1940 AD) and later announced as a wilderness shrine in 1999 and Tiger Reserve in 2011.
FDO said that Encroachers have been trying to occupy forest soil for years and claimed that they belong to their ancestors, which, as he said, was false. The country, recorded as Mahasura (Forest Land) in revenue records, consists of 9 631.33 acres and is part of a reserved Kawal Forest Block, he added.
“The defendant allegedly indulged in the felling of trees and built a shack in the Palaghori area since 2023. Although they were evicted and their shacks returned in August 2025 in September 2024. Forest officials and communities leaders advised them to leave but in vain,” Fdo said.
Encroachers reportedly attacked forest staff while fulfilling their duties and lodging complaints to the police for attacking state employees.
Published – September 2025 06:51
