Balasore, April 19: Forest officials in the east zone - Balasore, Baripada and Bhadrak - have threatened to go on strike from April 25 in protest against police inaction against goons, who had attacked the employees and ransacked a beat house inside the Kuldiha sanctuary on April 14.

Seven forest employees were tied up and beaten in the incident.

The attackers had even snatched away the service revolver from one of the staff members. So far, the police have not taken any action in the case despite the people in the incident having been identified.

The Odisha Non-Gazetted Forest Service Association has submitted a memorandum to the district wildlife head demanding immediate action against the culprits.

"Seven of our men, including the Kuldiha range officer were subjected to a brutal attack. Some of them were tied and beaten up. The range officer had suffered severe head injuries and his service revolver was snatched away," said Manwar Khan, general secretary of the association of foresters and guards in Balasore.

He said the local sarpanch, who had led the violence, was moving freely. The revolver of ranger Laxman Pradhan was found yesterday.

Nilgiri sub-divisional police officer S.R. Mahapatra said: "Raids are going on. No arrest has been made because the accused have fled their villages. The missing revolver with five live catridges inside was found near the Hathikhulia beat house. Two platoons have been deployed at the villages."

A group of villagers from Hathikhulia, Rairampur and Dhipa Sahi had attacked the forest officials because of previous enmity.

The attack came in the wake of the arrest of one Hauda Singh after a country-made gun and some deer antlers had been seized from him.

While there had been an anger over the arrest, the preventive measure for Akhand Sikar (annual mass hunting) further aggravated the villagers' wrath.

The angry villagers had ransacked the Hathikhulia beat house and forcibly took Singh along with them and beat him up. Pradhan was also roughed up when he went to rescue Singh.

Divisional forest officer Harsh Bardhan Udgata said: "The latest incident has adversely affected the morale of our men. Not only the foresters and forest guards, but also the range officers are disturbed by the attack."

"The police should do the needful at the earliest," he said.