TIRUPATI/VIJAYAWADA: In a first of its kind in the county, three red sanders smugglers have been sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment and slapped a fine of `6 lakh each, for trespassing, possessing red sanders wood and theft of government property. Tirupati Principal Sessions Court judge Yedukondalu, in his sensational judgment on Tuesday, sentenced the three accused from Tamil Nadu to undergo 11 years’ imprisonment.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force (RSASTF) in-charge IG Ravi Shankar said that the three accused - G Ponnuswami, 39, G Thirumalai, 29, both hailing from Thiruvannamalai district, and C Kumar, 27, of Dharmapuri district - had entered the Karakambadi forest range on August 2016.
The three chopped as many as 58 red sanders logs, weighing around 1900 kg and tried to escape in their vehicle. However, duty forest inspector Srinivas and his team, who were patrolling the area, chased the smugglers and intercepted them. When they were confronted, they admitted their crime and handed over the logs to the forest officials. The estimated value of the seized red sanders logs was around `4 crore, the IG said.
Subsequently, they were arrested and a case under sections 20(1) (d)(i) (a) (C), 32(A), 36 (a) 379 of IPC was registered against them. “After the investigation, Task Force police filed a chargesheet against the trio. “The judgment will serve as a deterrent to those engaged in red sanders smuggling. We are also focusing on speeding up trial in other pending cases,” Ravi Shankar told TNIE.