TIRUPATI:Charges under the Preventive Detention (PD) Act have been slapped on a red sanders smuggler from Chennai, Ravi Somu, following the District Collector’s directions here Tuesday.
Ravi has been named as an accused in 23 cases registered in various police stations in Chittoor district for various charges including felling of red sanders trees and transporting the logs illegally to foreign countries. He has even been convicted and given jail term in one case.
As the police considered the offences he was involved in as serious and caused damage to the national heritage, they sought clearance from the district collector to charge him under the more serious PD Act.
Additional SP (Urban) S Thrimurthulu said Ravi belonged to Annasalai Sastri Nagar in Chennai of Tamil Nadu and was facing trial in many red sanders smuggling cases and was even convicted in one. In the latest case on January 27, 2015, Ravi was caught red-handed on Koduru-Renigunta road along with 10 others while trying to smuggle red sanders logs. The logs were gathered from the forest area 5 km away from Tumbura Theertham crossroads. Twenty-eight logs, a two-wheeler, a car and a lorry were seized from them. Ravi was named as Accused No. 3 in the case.
Ravi and his gang members were collecting logs from the Seshachalam forest and transporting them to Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi and Manipur,” said the ASP.
In this backdrop, the Tirupati Urban Police recently forwarded a proposal to the district collector seeking permission to file a PD Act case against the undertrial prisoner. On Monday, Collector Siddarth Jain gave his nod to the proposal.
As Ravi caused a huge loss to the natural heritage, forest greenery and wildlife, it was felt that he should be booked under a serious Act, Thrimurthulu said.
Police Get Custody of Actress Nitu Agarwal in Red Sanders Case
Kurnool: The Rudravaram police have been permitted to take actor Nitu Agarwal, who was arrested in a red sanders smuggling case, into custody for two days for interrogation. The Koilakuntla Court on Tuesday responded positively to a request to this effect by the police. Nitu Agarwal, Accused No. 10 in the red sanders smuggling case in which her live-in partner Mastan Vali is Accused No. 1, was arrested on April 26 on the outskirts of Kurnool town. She was sent in judicial remand till May 7 and is currently lodged at the Nandyal subjail. SI Harinath Reddy said they would take her into their custody on Wednesday.