85-Year-Old Woman Breaks Down As Tree She Cared For 20 Years Is Cut

An 85-year-old woman in Chhattisgarh's Khairagarh district broke down in tears after a peepal tree she had nurtured for over two decades was illegally cut down in her village, Sara Gondi. Deola Bai planted a small peepal sapling in her courtyard about 20 years ago and cared for it "like her own child," as per a local. She regularly watered it.

The tree was said to have been cut down for profit.

Heartbroken, the elderly woman sank to the ground beside the fallen trunk, crying uncontrollably.

A video, shared by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, shows the woman crying and resting her head against the tree stump.

"This is such a heart-wrenching scene. An elderly woman weeps bitterly after Peepal tree she planted 20 years ago is cut down. I'm told this occurred in the State of Chhattisgarh," Rijiju wrote on X.

This is such heart-wrenching scene!
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I'm told this occurred in the State of Chhattisgarh. #EkPedMaaKeNaam pic.twitter.com/7UeuSSmKAr

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) October 11, 2025

According to a complaint lodged by a resident of the village, on the morning of October 5, Imran Memon of Khairagarh, along with an accomplice, attempted to cut the tree. Villagers intervened and stopped them.

The next morning the tree had been reduced to a stump.

A case was registered at the Khairagarh police station under Sections 298 (deliberate intent to wound religious feelings) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai (KCG) police have arrested the two men, Khairagarh SHO Anil Sharma told The Times of India.

During questioning, the accused allegedly admitted that they wanted to level the government land situated in front of a plot recently purchased by Memon. He reportedly sought the help of Prakash Kosre of Lalpur, who used a cutting machine to fell the tree while Memon kept watch.

After the act, the duo allegedly fled to Khairagarh and disposed of the cutting machine by throwing it into a river. Divers have been deployed to locate it.