Odisha: 2 killed in clash over forest land

Gurubaru Bhatra, who was injured, has been shifted to Nabarangpur district headquarters hospital after his condition turned critical, they added.

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Nabarangpur District Collector Rashmita Panda said Harijan had uprooted some saplings planted by the forest department on a 9-acre patch that was proposed to be made a reserve area. Harijan, who was not on good terms with villagers of Telegaon, wanted to do farming on the land, she added.

The villagers called an emergency meeting and sent Shaganu and Gurubaru to summon Harijan for negotiations. “He ignored them and instead went to have lunch with his friends,” said Panda.

Soon after, Harijan and his friends had an altercation with Shaganu and Gurubaru during which the two were hacked. Shaganu died on the spot while Gurubaru was injured.

Later, the incensed villagers armed with weapons reached the spot and lynched Harijan. The assailants also took petrol from an auto rickshaw and a two-wheeler parked nearby and set Harijan’s house ablaze.

Nabarangpur, arguably India’s poorest district, is the focus of a year-long assignment, titled District Zero, by The Indian Express to track poverty and transformation.

Police officers had previously told this newspaper that although the tribal-dominated district has been classified as part of the Left Wing Extremism-affected zone, the potential for conflict was more related to forest land rights involving tribals.

No one has been arrested so far in the latest incident but officials said action would be taken once the post-mortem reports were received. “We are investigating the matter. Four platoons of police personnel have been deployed in the village. We have sent senior officials, including the project director of the District Rural Development Agency, to the spot to conduct a probe,” said Panda.