Farmers’ union seeks action against Forest officer

The leaders of the Kerala Karshaka Union have sought the removal of a senior forest department officer from the Thamarassery Range office, who was recently convicted in a case related to the custody t

The leaders of the Kerala Karshaka Union have sought the removal of a senior forest department officer from the Thamarassery Range office, who was recently convicted in a case related to the custody torture of a settler farmer. The union leaders said it was unfair to allow the officer to enjoy uninterrupted service without any department-level action. “The officer was convicted for beating up a poor farmer in his office. It was found to be a grave incident and the farmer is in a critical condition,” said Johnson Kulathinkal, general secretary of the union. He alleged that the officer’s move to continue in the same position was a challenge to the whole legal system. A few days ago, the union and a few other organisations had honoured a lawyer who took up the case for the farmer who was reportedly arraigned in a fake poaching case. The main complaint of the victim was that he was taken to the Forest office for the “cruel torture” after he surrendered in court. At the time of the incident, the farmer was 65 years old.