Daijiworld Media Network – Beltangady (MS)

Beltangady, Apr 9: A man registered caste abuse case against three forest officers.

Aitha, resident of Kalmanja village of the taluk accused chief forest conservator of Dakshina Kannada district Prakash Netalkar, assistant conservator of forest of Kundapur Clifford Lobo and zonal forest officer of Udupi mobile squad Sandhya of abusing his caste.

In the complaint that is given by Aitha to the Dharmasthala police station, he says, “Forest department officials legally confiscated the trees, which I was piling up on December 9, 2021, with the intention of planting arecanut saplings on the land which I am owning since 40 years.

Dharmasthala police station (file photo)

“On December 10, 2021, the forest department officers trespassed my property without giving any notice and interrogated me and my mother, kept a demand for Rs five lac as bribe and threatened of registering more cases in case I do not pay the amount. When I said that I do not have such a huge amount to pay them, they abused my caste and took the trees to their depot,” he said.