TIRUMALA:Red sanders smuggling takes place all over the state. Forest and police officials seized 20,000 tonnes of red sanders logs in the last few years. They set apart 10,000 logs for which the state government requested Central permission for auctioning. In this scenario, several other issues flared up resulting in law and order problems.
On December 15, 2013, a 200-member gang of workers attacked a forest squad and brutally murdered three forest officials using boulders and knives; Dy Forest Range Officer NR Sridhar (50), Assistant Beat Officer David Karunakar and a Guard were killed by the smugglers.
In the beginning of 2014, one smuggler was killed in an encounter at Settigunta near Tirupati where the smugglers attacked the officers in the Seshachala hill range. In May 2014, in the rear of Tirumala hills and after Kalyani Reservoir, three smugglers were killed at close range in the deep forest. The smugglers pelted stones and tried to attack with knives, and axes, but were gunned down by the police. In August 2014, two smugglers were killed at Gadela of Obulavari Palli mandal in Chittoor district