In a troubling incident, four forest watchers from the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) are accused of assaulting a 26-year-old auto-rickshaw driver, Meraz Khan. The alleged attack took place in the Barahi forest range, where Khan was reportedly dragged, tied to a tree, and beaten after the forest watchers demanded a bribe of ₹50,000. Following Khan’s written complaint, police have initiated an inquiry at the Madhotanda police station to investigate the allegations.
Meanwhile, the forest watchers also approached police alleging that Khan had assaulted 28-year-old watcher Bhagwan Deen, who suffered head injuries. However, they did not submit a formal written complaint. The incident sparked outrage locally, with Nagendra Singh, state vice president of the BKU (Tikait), visiting the police station to demand strict action against the forest staff.
Madhav confirmed that medical examinations were conducted for both sides and instructed SHO Ashok Pal to probe the case before taking legal action. Divisional forest officer Manish Singh referred the matter to SP Sukirti Madhav for an impartial investigation.