The young woodcutter in his twenties, who was getting ready to shed his bachelorhood to attain marital bliss, finally landed behind bars.
T. Sivaram, son of Tirupati, a resident of Matlampatti village in Tiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu, was engaged and all set to tie the knot in a couple of months, but fate had different plans for him. Like many other misguided youths of his area, he accepted the ‘assignment’ of felling red sanders trees and smuggling them out of the Seshachalam forest for making a fast buck.
Falling prey to the pep talk of Anbu, a contract agent of Nasamalai area who regularly hires workers, Sivaram accepted the princely offer of Rs.500 per kilo of wood chopped and smuggled out of the forest, as he urgently required money for his marriage.
The batch of workers was arrested by a patrol team led by the Red Sanders Anti Smuggling Task Force (RSASTF) Sub-Inspector Vijay Narasimhulu at Karakambadi village on the city outskirts early on Friday. T. Settu, son of Tirumoorthy, hailing from Palamarudhiyur (Tiruvannamalai district) was also arrested, while more than two dozen of their accomplices fled the spot.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Sridhar Rao produced the accused before the media and explained that the youth from the neighbouring State were often lured with huge sums of money for cutting trees and they walk into the danger zone. Anbu had reportedly agreed to pay Sivaram Rs.500 for every kilo of wood felled and brought out of the forest.
As the ‘forest operation’ might go on for several days, they had brought utensils, groceries and greens along with them. These were also recovered from their possession.
