For the first time in the country, the Police Department has made all arrangements for sharing its comprehensive database of fingerprints of known and repeat offenders with the Forest Department with the objective of giving no scope for red sanders smuggling gangs to indulge in repeated offences by taking cover under false identities.
Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force (RSASTF) head M. Kanta Rao, DIG, during his visit to the Nellore district on Tuesday, told reporters that it was a unique effort being made by the Andhra Pradesh police to help the Forest Department to further curb precious wood smuggling.
Stating that the Forest Department has no practice of collecting fingerprints of offenders till now, Mr. Kanta Rao said that this was the reason why the smugglers would always prefer to be handed over to the Forest Department even when they were caught by the local police. Later, these offenders used to give false names and addresses so as to come back and carry out illegal transportation of red wood again in another name.
Mr. Kanta Rao said that the menace of repeat offenders with a variety of false names and addresses was very high in the forest produce smuggling cases and this kind of repetitive cases would be largely curbed once their fingerprints were matched in the database. If a smuggler was found to be a repeat offender, he would be given much greater punishment under non-bailable sections.
Stating that the idea of preventing repeat offenders would be very effective, Mr. Kanata Rao said that in the recent past, it came to the fore that a red sanders smuggler’s original identity became known only after his relatives arrived at the sub-jail where he died. Till then, the smuggler concerned committed a number of offences under different identities in many places, he added.
Scientific approach
Mr. Kanata Rao said that this was part of the scientific approach and the e-vigil being placed by the police to nab the offenders without using third degree methods. Sufficient training would be given to the forest officials in making use of the fingerprints from now on.
Referring to the case of international smuggler Vinjamur Ramanatha Reddy in the district recently, Mr. Kanata Rao said that the police teams formed by SP Vishal Gunni here seized Rs. 44 lakh from this smuggler’s gang which was a significant catch.
Mr. Vishal said that as a preventive measure, the photos, fingerprints and copies of Aadhaar card of the suspects were also being collected at the police station level.
