ADILABAD: Mancherial forest officials reported that encroachers of forest land in the Lingapur beat of Thallapet Range assaulted their staff on duty with sharp weapons and chilli powder on Friday. The assailants were identified as belonging to Dammannapet and Mamidiguda villages of Dandepalli mandal.

Three staff members, forest section officer (FSO) Balakrishna, forest beat officer (FBO) Parameshwar, and base camp watcher Rajender, were injured in the attack.

The encroachers allegedly issued life-threatening warnings to the forest staff. Officials said the assault appeared to be pre-planned. A complaint has been lodged with the Dandepalli police against the accused.