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Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): City residents—including children—went to the police station to protest after a 20-foot-tall, 4-year-old Peepal tree was cut down by an unknown person on Sunday.

The residents are now demanding that a criminal case be filed, and the person responsible be caught using CCTV footage from the area.

The tree was planted on June 12, 2021, near HIG 257, next to the boundary wall of a newly built school. Over the years, it grew tall and strong. But two days ago, it was cut down from the root, shocking the entire community.

Umashankar Tiwari, President of the Colony Development Committee, said, “This feels like the murder of a tree. Even the Supreme Court has said that cutting a tree is a bigger crime than human murder.”

Tiwari also pointed to a case from Hamirpur, where a truck driver was booked for crashing into a tree. He said, “Just like that case, a case of murder should be filed against the unknown person who cut this tree. A proper investigation should be done, just like it's done in human murder cases.”

Residents say trees are important for oxygen, shade, and wildlife, and cutting them puts human and animal life in danger. “If something gives us oxygen, it is alive. So cutting a tree should be seen as killing a living being,” said Tiwari.

The people of the colony are also standing strong to protect trees, calling this a fight not just for greenery—but for the future of life itself.

For now, a complaint has been given at the Katara Police Station in Bhopal. If no case is registered, the residents plan to take the issue to the Police Commissioner and the District Collector on Tuesday.