Sirpur TRS MLA, whose brother attacked Forest Officer, appointed Wildlife Board member

By Coreena Suares  Published on  18 Dec 2019 5:04 PM GMT
Sirpur TRS MLA, whose brother attacked Forest Officer, appointed Wildlife Board member

Hyderabad: TRS Sirpur MLA Koneru Konappa, whose brother thrashed Forest Range Officer Chota Anita, has been appointed a member of Telangana Board for Wildlife.

According to an order dated December 18, 2019, Telangana government constituted a State Wildlife Board under section 6 (1) of the Wild Life Protection Act 1972. This board will continue for three years. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is the board’s Chairperson and the Minister for Forest and Environment Jogu Ramana as its Vice-Chairperson.

Three TRS legislators — Sirpur MLA Koneru Konappa, Nagarkurnool MLA Marri Janardhan Reddy and Kothagudem MLA Vanama Venkateshwara Rao — are its various members.

What is astonishing is that TRS Sirpur MLA’s brother, Koneru Krishna Rao, is an accused in the attack of a Forest Range Officer on duty. The incident garnered attention across the nation, which subsequently led to the Women’s Commission questioning the state on the act.

Krishna Rao, the former Zilla Parishad Chairman, mainly targeted FRO Ch Anitha and brutally beat her with sticks. The attack happened under police presence at Sarsala village of Kaghaznagar Range on June 30. The forest staffs were carrying out plantation as part of the Vana Mahotsavam at an area in the reserve forest when the attack occurred.

The officer suffered musculoskeletal injuries and was moved to Hyderabad for treatment. Adding a context to the issue, four days before the plantation drive, FRO Anita had held a meeting with villagers. She explained to them that the land belongs to the reserve forest and the Telangana Chief Minister has directed her department to take up afforestation work.

On June 30, a sizable number of villagers had gathered for protest much before the forest personnel reached for the plantation work. Koneru Krishna Rao was leading the gang, and he later thrashed the officer who was doing her duty.

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