Forest Beat Officer arrested for ‘extorting’ money from farmers in Adilabad district

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. A Forest Beat Officer (FBO) was arrested by the Talamadugu police in Adilabad district on Wednesday for allegedly extorting money from four farmers by threatening to register criminal cases against them. According to the police, the accused, identified as Krishna, was arrested based on a complaint lodged by the four farmers from Kajjarla village. The farmers reportedly burnt crop residue in their agricultural fields a few days ago, following which the fire accidentally spread and damaged the Forest Department’s avenue plantation along the Kajjarla-Devapur road to some extent, sources said. Taking advantage of the incident, the FBO allegedly threatened to register criminal cases against the farmers and demanded ₹1.50 lakh from them. Intimidated by the threat, the farmers reportedly paid him ₹50,000. Acting on the complaint, the Talamadugu police registered a case against the FBO, conducted an inquiry and arrested him. The accused was produced before a local court, police said.