Three red sanders smugglers were injured in firing by a combing party at the Thollagutta gradient zone, 2 km from the Pulibonu forest base camp, near Bhakarapeta at 11 a.m. on Friday.
Information reached Chittoor Superintendent of Police P.H.D. Ramakrishna a good three hours after the incident as the area was out of mobile and wireless network coverage.
Mr. Ramakrishna said an 80-member party comprising forest guards and armed policemen was combing the area when it came under attack from smugglers numbering around 200. On sighting the combing party, the smugglers started pelting stones, forcing the police to open fire. The smugglers and their hired labour force escaped along with the injured with the combing party hot on their heels, he added.
The Divisional Forest Officer (Tiruapti wildlife), Srinivas, said he was getting constant updates from his men.
A senior police officer in Piler circle said armed guards were tracking the injured smugglers by the blood trail. “If the injured are not in a position to keep pace with the smugglers, there is every possibility of them being killed by their associates,” he said.
Meanwhile, the police and forest personnel stepped up vigil in vulnerable areas in Agarala, A. Ramgampeta, Nendragunta and Bhakarapeta check posts and along the forest roads crisscrossing the Seshachalam ranges in Chittoor and Kadapa districts. For the last three years, hundreds of smugglers and hired labour force have been crossing over from north-western parts of Tamil Nadu to carry out their clandestine trade.
Four held, red sanders seized
The police arrested four persons and seized a lorry carrying 101 red sanders logs at Kotha Madhavaram in Vontimitta mandal on Friday. The seized contraband is valued at about Rs. 1 crore in the open market. A case has been registered, the police said.
