Belthangadi: People in Ujire and surrounding areas are cut-off with the highhandedness of Deputy Range Forest officer (DRFO) Keerthan Shetty after his transfer. Few incidents in the recent past, where the forest official alleged to have employed his highhandedness, have drawn the official again into public glare, raising fears of recurrence of past incidents.
It may be recalled, DRFO Keerthan Shetty was transferred to a forests depot in Mannagudde near Nelyadi in Ujire range after he was accused of physically assaulting Kamaldas bowing to public pressure by the departmental heads through an official order on October 6.
However, it is now reported, Keerthan Shetty refused to take charge of the forest depot citing misappropriation in timber stocks by his predecessors and has remained in Ujire itself. Subsequently, he has alleged to have threatened few bikers in Puduvettu and involved himself in petty incidents employing offensive tactics, resulting in public outrage.
When public complained to his senior, Subbiah Shetty, the latter has turned a blind eye to their complaints and has asked them to refrain from making false allegations against DRFO Keerthan Shetty. People in the town are demanding stringent action against DRFO Keerthan Shetty before the situation goes out of control.
Case history:
Kamladas, a native of Puduvettu was allegedly assaulted by DRFO Keertan Shetty in the most inhuman manner by keeping him in solitary confinement at the forest guest house on September 26. An injured Kamaldas subsequently underwent treatment at a private hospital in Mangaluru.
Protests erupted soon after the incident, demanding justice for innocent Kamal Das. A massive protest was held near the forest guest house on October 3, where all the political parties supported by local organisations united in demanding his suspension. During the massive protests, protesters set a deadline and submitted a petition to senior official Satish setting October 6 as the deadline to initiate action against Keerthan Shetty, which ultimately worked in their favour.
