Jaipur: The murder of 38-year-old forest ranger Pratap Singh Chundawat, allegedly by the mining mafia late Monday night, has exposed the risks faced by Rajasthan’s frontline forest staff, who take on illegal mining operators with little protection and often just motorcycles.Chundawat was allegedly run over by a dumper truck while trying to stop illegal mining in Chhoti Sadari range of Pratapgarh district late on Sept 21. The forest department Wednesday recommended ‘forest martyr’ status for him. Police registered a case, seized an earth-moving machine and a dumper truck, and detained three people.The attack was not an isolated incident. “In the past five years, more than 200 attacks have been reported on forest staff by mafias, while three forest personnel have died in such incidents in the past two years,” said forest union president Bhupendra Singh.In Jan, forest guard and former army personnel Jitendra Singh Shekhawat was critically injured after allegedly being run over by a tractor-trolley carrying illegally mined material at Jhiri checkpoint in Dholpur. He later succumbed to his injuries in Jaipur.In June, a range forest officer in Deeg received an anonymous threat warning of an attack at his home if tractor-trailers seized during an illegal mining operation were not released. The department had seized three vehicles, following which the officer approached police.Singh said frontline staff urgently need firearms and better vehicles. “There should be no delay in providing firearms to forest personnel. They should be equipped at the earliest. In most cases, the mafia runs over forest staff because they are travelling on motorcycles. The staff should be provided four-wheelers for patrolling,” he said.Several states, including Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Jammu & Kashmir, have provisions to arm forest personnel engaged in protection and enforcement duties.Rajasthan has had a firearms policy for forest personnel since 1994. Under it, forest guards and foresters can be issued 12-bore guns, while senior field officers are eligible for .22 revolvers.The 2026-27 State Budget sought to strengthen the arrangement. Rajasthan Forest and Environment minister Sanjay Sharma announced Glock pistols for regional forest officers and foresters and two SLR rifles for every forest post. Govt also announced 460 motorcycles for field staff.Forest employees, however, said the promised firearms and vehicles have not yet reached them. They said the problem was not merely a lack of equipment but the mismatch between the threats they face and the resources available. “While illegal mining operators use heavy vehicles, forest staff often reach the spot on motorcycles and without adequate firearms or protective equipment,” said a forest staffer posted in Kota.
