After giving several anxious moments to the sleuths of the Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force by switching guises and modus operandi, red sanders smugglers have really evolved to change attires and mood with the changing times. Finally, timing with the Ayyappa season, they turned up in the guise of devotees bound for Sabarimala, clad in black, for their job.
In course of combing on Thursday in the Krishnapuram forest in Yerpedu mandal, located 25 km east of Tirupati, the task force team, led by Reserve Sub Inspector Vijay Narasimhulu, spotted suspicious movement of smugglers and charged behind them. However, the perpetrators dumped the red sanders logs and fled, only to reappear at a distance in ‘black shirt and dhotis’, which is traditionally worn by Ayyappa devotees. They were immediately arrested and on questioning, reportedly spilled the beans.
In another operation near Mungilipattu, diagonally on the western side of Tirupati, woodcutters reportedly rained stones and sickles on the combing party. Two constables were injured, the policemen nabbed Subramanyam, a woodcutter belonging to Salem district of Tamil Nadu.
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Inspector-General of Police (RSASTF) M. Kantha Rao called as ‘crafty’ the woodcutters’ bid to misuse religious sentiments to carry out their smuggling activity. The perpetrators had earlier used cargo vehicles prominently bearing the logo and image of a prominent dairy and again a leading cement company, to sneak under the nose of the cops at check-posts.