DHARMAPURI: Harur police are investigating the mysterious death of a 40-year-old labourer who was allegedly involved in the smuggling of red sandalwood in Andhra Pradesh.
According to sources, in the early hours of Saturday, November 27, 2021, residents of a tribal hamlet in Sitheri found a man in an unconscious state lying near the bus stand. Assuming that he was unconscious under the influence of alcohol, people left him unattended. However, later in the day, as he did not move, they found that the man was dead and immediately alerted the revenue and police officials.
Revenue officials said the deceased R Raman (40), a native of Methikadu village in Sitheri Panchayat, was working as a labourer. Earlier this week, Raman had told his family that he was going to work in Coimbatore as a labourer. However, after this, it is unclear about his whereabouts, they added.
Meanwhile, police suspect that he had a link to the red sandal smuggling operation.
The police said Raman's family members have said he had been working in areas like Tiruppur, Coimbatore as a labourer and that they were unaware of his whereabouts until Saturday. “We suspect that a team of five people had gone to Andhra Pradesh to smuggle red Sandalwood and Raman was part of the team.”
Superintendent of Police C Kalaichelvan told TNIE, "The team of five people were involved in cutting red sandalwood trees in Andhra Pradesh. While they were attempting to take away the wood, a task force team of forest staff had attempted to arrest them and the smugglers had fled. The other four people who attempted to escape were injured and are under medical treatment in Andhra Pradesh."
He added, "We are still investigating Raman’s death. It is unclear if he had died there and was brought here or if he had died in Dharmapuri. We have sent his body to the Dharmapuri Medical College Hospital for autopsy. Only after we receive the autopsy details, we will get a clear picture of the incident."
Harur DSP Benezir Fathima said they are investigating how Raman was brought here and who was responsible for his death.
On the other hand, Harur Police said two people including a driver are currently under investigation in connection to the death of Raman.
It is to be recalled that in 2015, over 20 woodcutters who attempted to smuggle red sandalwood were shot by an anti task force team in Seshachalam in the foothill of Tirumala. Among them, seven were from Sitheri panchayat.