Three red sanders smugglers were gunned down by a combing party in Nagapatla valley of Chamala beat, 15 km from Tirumala on Wednesday night, after the smugglers attacked the police. Five members of the Special Task Force were injured in stone-pelting by the smugglers.
According to officials, the incident happened between 10 p.m. and midnight.
Divisional Forest Officer (Tirupati wildlife) Srinivas told The Hindu that over 100 smugglers, including hired labour force, were felling red sanders trees and dressing the logs to keep them ready for clandestine transport.
When the combing party attached to the wildlife division, which has been sieving the hill ranges for the past three days, rushed to the spot on a tip-off, smugglers started pelting stones. Some of them started hurling axes and machetes at the combing party, forcing the latter to open fire.
According to preliminary information, four smugglers or hired labourers were injured in the firing, while others escaped. Additional forces from Chandragiri, Bhakarapeta, Chinnagottigallu and Kadapa district, which form the core belt of the Seshachalam hills, are said to be on the move to cordon off vulnerable areas, providing exit routes for smugglers. The deceased smugglers were said to be from Tamil Nadu, though they have not yet been identified.
Tirupati Urban SP S.V. Rajasekhar Babu and senior forest officials visited the site of the encounter. The injured policemen were rushed to Ashwini Hospital at Tirumala.
In another incident, a group of red sanders smugglers tried to assault a Sub-Inspector at Devarakonda forest beat in Chinnagottigallu mandal this morning but were overpowered, leading to the arrest of two. Red sanders worth Rs. 25 lakh were seized.
