Satara, January 21: A former sarpanch and his wife allegedly beat up a woman forest guard, who is 3 months pregnant, along with her husband at a village in Satara, Maharashtra. The accused couple has been arrested, said the police.
They said the incident took place on Wednesday at Palsawade village in the western Maharashtra district, located around 120 kms from here.
According to police, the accused man, who is a member of the local forest management committee, was angry with the woman forest guard for taking the contractual forest labourers along with her "without his permission". A video of the assault incident has gone viral on social media.
Sharing the video on Twitter on Thursday, the Maharashtra Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray said, "The accused has been arrested this morning and will face the law at its strictest. Such acts will not be tolerated."
He said, "He and his wife allegedly beat up the woman forest guard, who is 3 months pregnant, as the accused was angry over the guard taking the contractual forest labourers along with her without his permission."
Talking to reporters, the woman forest guard said that her husband, who is also a forest guard, was also beaten up by the couple.