Elderly Woman's Tears as Beloved Peepal Tree Cut Down in Chhattisgarh

On October 9th, 2025, a heartbreaking scene unfolded in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon district as an elderly woman was captured on video weeping beside a freshly cut Peepal tree. The woman had planted and cared for the tree for over two decades, treating it like her own child. She would water it daily and worship it as part of her faith.

Tragically, the Peepal tree was cut down, allegedly at the behest of a local land dealer named Imran Memon. Villagers claim the tree stood on government land and was a site of local devotion. They accuse Imran of conspiring with an associate, Prakash Kosare, to have the tree removed so Imran could level the land.

The elderly woman's inconsolable grief has left the entire village in a state of anger and sorrow. "She cared for that tree like her own son. We all felt the same connection. Watching her cry broke our hearts," said villager Suresh Kumar Tiwari.

In response, the villagers, led by Suresh Kumar Tiwari and former sarpanch Sanjay Singh, filed a complaint with the Khairagarh police station, leading to the arrest of Imran and Prakash. The police have also launched a search operation to recover the wood-cutting machine used to fell the tree.

As a gesture of solidarity, the villagers have planted a new Peepal tree at the same spot and pledged to protect it. The elderly woman, who once nurtured the old tree, was among the first to offer prayers at the new sapling, her grief now tinged with hope.