On the night of 9 August 2022, a tribal identified as Chain Singh was killed and three other tribals including Mahendra Singh and Bhagwan Singh sustained serious injuries after the forest officials opened indiscriminate fire at Khadyapura forest area in Vidisha district, Madhya Pradesh.
On 9 August 2022 morning, all the victims had gone to Khadyapura forest to collect wood. But in the evening the forest department officials came on the spot and allegedly cordoned off and indiscriminately fired at them without any provocation.
During the firing, Chain Singh was killed on the spot and three other tribals sustained serious injuries.
In their defence, however, the forest officials claimed that after being pelted stones while attempting to prevent wood smuggling from the forest they fired in self-defence in which one person died on the spot while three others were injured.
The Indigenous Lawyers Association of India (ILAI) filed a complaint with the NHRC seeking actions, among others, to direct the State Government of Madhya Pradesh to order an inquiry, appropriate legal action against the accused forest officials and adequate compensation to the victims.
