In eastern Madhya Pradesh's Shahdol district, the coal mafia has once again shown who really calls the shots.
This time, they didn't just smuggle illegal coal they allegedly stripped a forest ranger of his uniform, beat him on the road, abused senior officials, and then vanished into the night, leaving behind a tractor loaded with black gold and a trail of humiliation.
Shockingly, despite the ranger informing the local police immediately after the February 11 evening attack, the FIR against three identified accused and their aides was registered at Sohagpur police station nearly 24 hours later.
The incident took place in the upper tola of Khetavali village under Sohagpur police station limits. Villagers had reportedly intercepted a tractor transporting illegally mined coal and informed both the police and the forest department. What followed has raised serious questions about law enforcement in the region.
According to Divisional Forest Officer (South Shahdol) Shraddha Pandre, Ranger Ram Naresh Vishwakarma was immediately dispatched to the spot. Pandre herself was on her way from Budhar after a meeting. But before police could arrive, armed men allegedly linked to the coal mafia stopped the ranger's vehicle, dragged him out, assaulted him, and tore his uniform. The attackers reportedly threatened him at gunpoint. The ranger somehow managed to escape and alert his seniors.
"The incident happened around 7 pm on February 11," said DFO Shraddha Pandre. "The accused surrounded the ranger's vehicle, pulled him out and beat him. His uniform was torn. Even when I reached the spot, the three named accused Betan Singh, Chintu Singh and Raju Singh misbehaved with our staff without fear."
Villagers allege that the same mafia had earlier assaulted locals when they tried to stop the illegal coal transport. The accused allegedly emptied the tractor in the middle of the road before fleeing. When police later reached the site and found coal, officials reportedly claimed the dispute arose merely because forest staff had blown their vehicle horns.
What followed deepened the controversy.
Despite the ranger reaching Sohagpur police station around 11 pm on February 11, an FIR was not registered until nearly 24 hours later around 8 pm on February 12. DFO Pandre has openly accused the police of non-cooperation and attempting to suppress the matter.
"The police were not filing the FIR. They kept insisting they would first record statements of forest officials before acting against the mafia. When I tried to contact them, they often did not pick up the phone. I received a response only once after 5-7 calls," Pandre alleged. She further claimed that officials initially misled her by saying no coal was found at the scene.
Ranger Ram Naresh Vishwakarma has alleged that his written complaint was altered three times at the police station. "They insisted the application be written according to their instructions," he said, claiming that despite repeated changes, the FIR was delayed.
However, Shahdol Additional Superintendent of Police Abhishek Diwan offered a different version. He stated that Ranger Ram Naresh Vishwakarma had been called to record his statement but did not appear initially. "As soon as his statement was recorded, legal action was taken," the Additional SP said, defending the timeline of the FIR.
Shockingly, this was not an isolated incident. Just two days earlier, the same group had reportedly misbehaved with the ranger and escaped with a coal-laden tractor in the same forest belt, where illegal mining is said to be rampant.
Finally, on Thursday night, an FIR was registered against Betan Singh, Chintu Singh, Raju Singh and others for obstructing government work, assault, vandalism and abuse. The three main accused were arrested on February 14, two days after the FIR was filed. Notably, Betan Singh is reportedly already facing around half a dozen cases related to illegal mining and wildlife crimes and is said to have attacked forest staff in the past as well.
While the arrests have brought some relief to the forest department's ground force, DFO Pandre made it clear that the damage runs deeper. "Our morale would have been much higher had the police acted swiftly," she said, underlining the growing frustration within the department.
