MP: Youth shot dead by forest officials

Narsinghpur(MP), Aug 29: A youth was killed as Forest officials opened fire after a clash with villagers over theft of timber from the forest in Gwari village of this district, police said today.

Police said Chhotelal Patel(17) was killed with a 12-bore gun on Monday. Villagers clashed with a team of forest officials led by SDO(Forest) Chandrasekhar Singh who reached the village with a search warrant.

Meanwhile, police registered a case of murder against unidentified forest official, while a counter case was registered against 21 villagers including the victim's father Shikhar Singh for causing hindrance in government work.

The district administration ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident, official sources said.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who ordered a detailed inquiry, sanctioned solatium of Rs 2 lakh to the victim's family.

UNI