Elderly woman sobs over felled peepul tree; two held as video goes viral

A viral video of an elderly woman's lament in Chhattisgarh after a peepul tree she had planted 25 years ago was illegally cut down, has led to the arrest of two persons.

The tree, which stood on government land along a road on the outskirts of Sarragondi village in Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai district, was cut on the night of 5 October, a police official told PTI on Sunday.

The video, where Devla Bai Patel, in her 90s, is seen wailing with her head resting on the chopped tree trunk, was shared by many on social media.

Union minister Kiren Rijiju shared the video on X, and wrote, "This is such heart-wrenching scene! An elderly woman weeps bitterly after Peepal tree she planted 20 years ago cut down. I'm told this occurred in State of Chhattisgarh. #EkPedMaaKeNaam."

Based on a complaint filed by villager Pramod Patel on 6 October, Imran Memon and Prakash Kosre have been arrested for the act, the police official said.

Memon had recently procured the adjacent piece of farmland, and allegedly wanted to remove the tree so that he could have access to the road, the official said.

On 5 October, he tried to get it cut with Kosre's help but could not do so owing to strong opposition by the villagers. The duo then allegedly cut the tree at night.

The accused dumped the cutter machine they had used in the nearby river, and divers have been pressed into service to retrieve it, the official said.

The two men were booked under sections 298 (injuring or defiling place of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class) and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita besides the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.

Both the accused were produced in a local court, which sent them to judicial custody, the official said.

Devla Bai had planted the tree around 25 years ago, said Ramavtar Sahu, a local resident. The tree had become a sacred site for the local community and a couple of shrines had also come up nearby, Sahu told PTI over phone. Upon learning about the tree's destruction, Devla Bai rushed to the site and broke down, he said.

The villagers later performed a ritual at the spot and sought divine forgiveness. A new peepul sapling was planted at the hands of Devla Bai, Sahu said.