KADAPA: The police arrested eight woodcutters and seized nine red sanders logs worth Rs 2 lakh from them in Proddatur police station limits.
Talking to the media at Proddatur on Monday, DSP Srinivasa Rao said Saravanan, a red sanders smuggler of Tamil Nadu, brought eight woodcutters to Lankamala reserve forest to cut down red sander trees. He also brought a vehicle to the forest area to transport the red sanders logs. While the red sanders logs were being smuggled to Bangalore, the vehicle got a flat tyre at Proddatur bypass road. The smuggler asked the woodcutters to unload the logs from the vehicle and conceal them in nearby bushes. On receiving a tip-off, a police team led by Urban CI Sadasivaiah and Rural CI Obulesu and One Town SI K Chinna Peddaiah, rushed to the spot. On seeing the police, the woodcutters hurled stones and axes at them. But the police repulsed the attack and arrested the woodcutters. Nine red sanders logs, six mobile phones and eight axes were seized from them. However, the main accused Saravanan managed to escape. A search was launched to nab the red sanders smuggler, the DSP said.
In another incident, a group of 10 woodcutters fled the scene after seeing a police party at Jandlavaram village in Mydukur mandal. On getting a tip-off that there was an influx of red sanders smugglers and woodcutters into the forest area, the task force police, led by Armed Reserve SI Ramakrishna, conducted extensive combing in the area. The red sanders smugglers and woodcutters spotted the police party and fled the scene leaving their belongings at the place. The police seized food items, water bottles, torchlights, weighing machines and other material from the spot. A search was launched to apprehend the smugglers and woodcutters.