An attempt to chase a bike-borne couple and interrogate them on suspicion of carrying ganja in Angul district turned out to be a nightmare for two Forest Guards on Tuesday.
The Forest Guards were thrashed by locals for allegedly misbehaving with the husband-wife duo after the couple proved not guilty as the sack they were carrying on the bike was loaded with fodder.
The couple, Prashant Kumar Sahoo and Bishnupriya, of Saradhapur village under the Purunakot police limits was returning home in Angul town in the afternoon.
The Forest Guards Alok Sahoo and Jogesh Satapathy followed the couple on suspicion of carrying marijuana and stopped them at Badakera Square. They questioned the couple for around half an hour mistaking them as drug peddlers and forced them to open the sack despite their frequent requests to let them go.
The incident drew passersby’s attention. Irate people along with the couple asked the Forest Guards to refill the fodder in the sack. But the forest personnel refused to do so, which led to a scuffle and the couple and other people thrashed them.
The Forest Guards begged apology and left the spot after refilling the sack before arrival of police. The incident was captured on mobile phone by some witnesses, which has now gone viral on social media.