Alipurduar 13th January: The charge of shooting and killing a mentally unsound youth has been raised against the personnel of Mantharam beat under the Kodal Basti range of Jaldapara National Park. The deceased, Vimal Rabha (33), was a resident of North Mendabari village.
After the incident, the outraged public ransacked two vehicles of the local beat office as well as the forest department and staged protests in the Kodal Basti range. A police force was deployed in the area to prevent any untoward incident.
Locals alleged that, on Sunday evening, the victim had gone to the forest to fetch the cow, where he lost his way. When he was on his way back home early in the morning today, the forest workers opened fire on him. Rabha was rushed to Alipurduar District Hospital in critical condition, where doctors declared her dead.