Faridabad: Guard takes pics of illegal Aravali wall, beaten up

GURUGRAM: A forest guard was allegedly thrashed by a group of men with sticks when he was taking photos of a wall built illegally in the Aravalis in Faridabad. An FIR was filed against the men on Wednesday.
According to the Faridabad forest department, a forest guard was inspecting a forest area in Surajkund, Ankhir village for encroachment on Monday when he saw the wall.The area is protected under the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA).
He was taking photos of the construction on his mobile phone as evidence when some people carrying sticks approached him. In his complaint to police, the guard said the men snatched his phone and deleted the photos before thrashing him. They also threatened to kill him, he alleged.
Forest officials said the men had been hired by the person who built the wall, who has already been booked for encroachment. On the basis of the guard’s complaint, another FIR was filed against the encroacher under sections 186 (voluntarily obstructing a public servant in the discharge of duty) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant) of the IPC at Surajkund police station on Wednesday.
“An FIR has already been filed against the person who constructed the wall. We will soon be going to the area along with police. Illegal construction is rampant in the PLPA area in Faridabad and our guards are threatened by encroachers,” said Raj Kumar, divisional forest officer, Faridabad.
Meanwhile, environmental activists blamed the authorities for not addressing encroachment in the Aravalis. “It seems that everybody is hand in glove with the land mafia. Felling of trees and construction of structures are causing irreversible damage. These encroachers are also threatening those who complain against them of dire consequences,” said Jitender Bhadana, a Faridabad-based environmental activist.