BHOPAL: Unidentified men attacked a forest department outpost in Burhanpur district, Madhya Pradesh and looted 17 service rifles late Monday night. A case of robbery and dacoity has been lodged under IPC sections 395 and 397 and heavy force has been deployed in the area.
The incident happened at the Bakdi outpost of Navra forest area in Nepanagar sub-division of Burhanpur district, where 50-year-old chowkidar, Bhola Barela and his wife Manibai were sleeping.
“Around 20-22 masked men attacked me and my wife as well as a couple who tried to come to our rescue and decamped with 17 rifles of the forest staff,” the chowkidar alleged in the FIR registered on Tuesday afternoon at the Nepanagar police station.
Two police parties have been formed to track down the accused and recover the stolen weapons, said Burhanpur SP Rahul Kumar Lodha, who visited the post. According to officials, teams from the forest department and the police were conducting a drive to remove encroachments and check illegal cutting of trees in the area since the last few days.