An irate mob of villagers went on the rampage, attacking Forest department personnel when the latter had gone to Keshavpatnam village in Ichoda mandal of Adilabad district on Sunday to take up a plantation drive.At least three police personnel, who escorted the forest field staff to the village, sustained injuries in the attack, sources said.Two government vehicles were damaged in the incident, triggering tension in Keshavpatnam.A police source said that habitual timber smugglers were behind the attack on the joint team of the forest and police personnel.Tension broke out at Keshavpatnam after a group of local villagers claiming themselves as ‘podu cultivators’ resisted the attempts by the forest staff to take up a plantation drive in the reserve forest area.Members of an angry mob allegedly attacked them with sticks and damaged their vehicles, resulting in injuries to at least three police personnel.The injured personnel were shifted to the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMs) in Adilabad.Additional police forces were dispatched to the village following the incident.Published - July 20, 2025 06:29 pm IST