2 Karnataka men attack Mollem forest guards, get arrested

Ponda: Two Karnataka men were arrested for allegedly assaulting Mollem wildlife sanctuary staffers on Thursday morning. The two attacked forest guards after being stopped from entering the wildlife sanctuary.

The accused were headed to Dudhsagar waterfalls.Shravan Basavaraj Karadigudda, 23, a resident of Hubballi and Darshan Mahadevappa Malgundi, 24, a resident of Haliyal, are accused of assaulting foresters Zilu Hegde and Nagu Dhoifode.Collem police said after alighting from a train at Castle Rock station, the two were walking towards the Dudhsagar waterfalls.The waterfall area is closed to visitors every monsoon and opens in Oct.When the sanctuary staffers intercepted the two, they began quarrelling and then launched into the assault. A forester was injured by a ‘kada’ (a thick bangle) worn by one of the accused.The injured foresters were taken to the Dharbandora primary health centre at Piliem and discharged after treatment.Both the accused were arrested as a preventive measure and will be produced before the subdivisional magistrate of Dharbandora on Friday, police said.