Bravest yet Least Rewarded service-Indian Forest Service
Gustakhi Maaf Haryana – Pawan Kumar Bansal
Bravest Yet Least Rewarded Service
By our enlightened reader, Vinod Bhatia, IFS (Retd.)
The life of an Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer is often shrouded in the mist of the very jungles they protect. While most see them as “tree planters” or “wildlife guards,” the reality is a high-stakes mix of paramilitary discipline, judicial authority, and deep-woods diplomacy.
Unlike their counterparts in the IAS, an IFoS officer’s authority is often absolute within the “Notified Forest.” Under the Indian Forest Act, a Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) possesses unique quasi-judicial powers. They don’t just arrest; they can conduct their own courts, seize property, and serve as the primary barrier against industrial encroachment.
The lifestyle is one of “splendid isolation.” Many officers live in colonial-era Forest Rest Houses (FRHs), architectural marvels built deep within tiger habitats. While the views are breathtaking, the reality is stark.
As a part of the Indian Forest Service and having served with dignity for around 30 years, I am compelled to say that behind the official records of the Indian Forest Service lie stories of extraordinary courage, where officers transitioned from bureaucrats to “warriors” in a literal sense. I want to share what I know, while respectfully acknowledging those I haven’t met or heard of yet. These are not just career highlights, but explicit accounts of brave individuals who faced some of the most notorious criminals in Indian history to save forests, protect wildlife, and conserve forest ecosystems.
The map of India is dotted with the legacies of Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officers who have faced everything from left-wing extremism and ivory syndicates to the unpredictable fury of wild tuskers. Each state holds a unique story of “valiant” service where the line between a bureaucrat and a warrior thins to nothing. Let me trace some that I know personally or have heard about during my service.
1. P. Srinivas: The Only Man to Arrest Veerappan
Long before the Special Task Force (STF) finally cornered the notorious sandalwood smuggler and poacher Veerappan in 2004, a young IFoS officer named P. Srinivas had already done the impossible.
In 1986, Srinivas successfully arrested Veerappan. However, while Srinivas was away conducting raids based on the smuggler’s information, Veerappan managed to escape from custody. Unlike a traditional policeman, Srinivas believed in Satyanveshan (seeking truth through non-violence). He moved into Veerappan’s native village, Gopinatham, built a clinic, provided drinking water, and treated the villagers as family to win them away from the smuggler’s influence.
In 1991, Veerappan sent a message saying he wanted to surrender, but only to Srinivas, and only if he came unarmed and alone. Trusting in the potential for reform, Srinivas walked into the jungle unaccompanied. He was ambushed and beheaded by the bandit. To this day, he is remembered as the “Abhimanyu” of the forest department.
2. Sanjay Kumar Singh: Standing Up to the Mining Mafia
In the early 2000s, illegal stone mining was a multi-million-dollar industry in Bihar, often backed by insurgent groups. As a Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) in Garhwa, Sanjay Singh refused to pay “commissions” to Naxalite commanders for forest road construction.
He knew the only way to beat the mafia was to give the forest back to the people. He granted quarrying leases directly to village committees so they could earn a living legally.
On February 15, 2002, he was intercepted by an armed gang. Instead of fleeing, he stood his ground and argued for the rights of the environment and the local poor. He was shot nine times. His death remains a rallying cry for IFoS officers against the nexus of crime and politics.
3. Fateh Singh Rathore: The “Tiger Man” Who Took a Beating
Fateh Singh Rathore made Ranthambore National Park a world-famous tiger reserve through sheer grit. In the 1970s, he performed the near-impossible task of relocating several villages from the park’s core area to give tigers a fighting chance.
He did not use force; instead, he built trust—crying with villagers, sitting by their fires, and convincing them of a better future.
His strictness against illegal grazing and poaching earned him many enemies. In 1981, a mob of nearly 50 people attacked him with sticks and stones. He was left for dead in a forest drain with a fractured skull and multiple broken bones. He recovered and returned to the same forest, continuing his work until his last breath.
4. K.M. Abharna: The Real-Life “Sherni”
The Bollywood film Sherni (starring Vidya Balan) drew inspiration from real-life challenges faced by officers like K.M. Abharna.
During the hunt for tigress T1 (Avni) in Maharashtra, she had to manage a literal “war zone”—facing political pressure, angry mobs, and trophy hunters. Through scientific tracking and community engagement, she ensured the survival and
rehabilitation of Avni’s cubs, proving conservation requires empathy as much as enforcement.
5. The Sacrifice of S. Manikandan
In 2018, the service lost one of its most dedicated “elephant men.” S. Manikandan, Director of Nagarhole National Park, was known for handling human-elephant conflict.
While inspecting a forest fire near the Kabini backwaters, a lone tusker charged the team. Ensuring his junior staff escaped, he was trampled to death. His legacy remains etched in the “Golden Age” of Nagarhole conservation.
6. Raju K. Francis and the “Poachers to Protectors” Shift
At Periyar Tiger Reserve, Raju K. Francis arrested the notorious poacher Aruvi in 1994. Instead of merely imprisoning him, Francis persuaded the 23-member gang to surrender their arms and join conservation efforts.
They became the “Vidiyal Team”—India’s first successful reformed-poacher patrol—marking a turning point in conservation diplomacy.
7. Varun Jain’s “Digital Shield”
In Chhattisgarh’s Udanti-Sitanadi landscape, Varun Jain pioneered the Chhattisgarh Elephant Tracking & Alert System (CETAS) in 2022. Using AI and real-time patrol inputs, automated alerts were sent to villagers within a 10 km radius. His technological intervention ensured zero elephant-related deaths in his range for 22 consecutive months.
8. The Savior of Silent Valley
In the late 1970s, Kerala’s plan to build a hydroelectric dam across the Kunthipuzha River threatened to submerge Silent Valley National Park. Visionary scientists like M. S. Swaminathan and dedicated IFoS officers provided biological evidence proving the valley was a genetic treasure.
Their persistence led Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to scrap the project in 1983, saving one of the world’s last untouched tropical evergreen forests.
9. The “Lion King” of Gujarat: H.S. Singh
Dr. H.S. Singh spearheaded conservation of the Asiatic Lion in Gir National Park. Through community-based initiatives like “Vanyaprani Mitra,” he involved Maldhari tribes in lion protection.
The lion population rose dramatically during his tenure, securing the future of a species once on the brink.
10. The “Cobra Commando”: P. Gowri Shankar
At the Agumbe Rainforest Research Station, P. Gowri Shankar shifted policy from “kill on sight” to “rescue and release” for King Cobras.
His work turned Agumbe into a global hub for snake radio-telemetry research.
11. Sanjiv Chaturvedi: The Whistleblower of the Woods
A 2002-batch officer, Sanjiv Chaturvedi exposed corruption in Haryana involving funds meant for a herbal park. Despite 12 transfers in five years, he stood firm and received the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2015.
He proved that an IFoS officer’s most powerful weapon is not a gun, but an honest pen.
12. Prahlad Pradhan (Odisha, May 2025)
In the Dhenkanal forest division near Satkosia Tiger Reserve, forest guard Prahlad Pradhan was fatally shot during a scuffle with armed poachers. Despite his wound, he helped overpower the criminals before collapsing. He was posthumously honored for his bravery.
13. R. Ashok Kumar (Tamil Nadu, March 2025)
A forest guard in the Coimbatore Division, Ashok Kumar was killed by a gaur while protecting a fringe village. His death sparked nationwide debate on safety measures and insurance for frontline forest staff.
14. The Brave Warriors of Haryana
In Haryana, the battle against illegal mining and timber mafias is relentless. Forester Mintu Kumar, during a 2025 patrol in Yamunanagar’s Shivalik forests, confronted armed smugglers cutting Khair trees. Despite being outnumbered, he resisted bravely, leading to the recovery of illegal timber and registration of a major FIR.
Similarly, in the Nuh region of the Aravallis, forest guards like Sube Singh confront heavily loaded mining dumpers. Their courage is often linked to the martyrdom of Surender Singh Bishnoi, who was crushed by a mining dumper in 2022 while on duty.
These green warriors patrol on motorcycles against 20-ton trucks, often in the shadows, rarely in headlines.
The Indian Forest Service remains one of the bravest yet least rewarded services in the country—its officers standing between wilderness and lawlessness, often at great personal cost.
khabre junction