: Personnel of the Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force (RSASTF) fired two rounds in the air in self-defence during a combing operation on the Bhakarapet ghat road on Thursday, when about 20 woodcutters pelted stones at them.
The incident occurred in the early hours of the day, when a team led by Sub-Inspector Bhaskar came across a contingent of woodcutters sneaking into the forest at Puttagadda on the ghat section, which is a part of the Chennai-Anantapuram national highway. In their bid to escape, the smugglers pelted stones and axes at the patrolling team, causing grievous injuries to a constable —Dilip Kumar— who was struck in the elbow. The constable, even while trying to cover the bleeding injury, fired two rounds of fire in the air with his pump action weapon, making the perpetrators run helter-skelter. The constable was rushed to the SVR Ruia Government General Hospital here.
The team caught two of the woodcutters, while the rest fled under cover of darkness. As is common in most cases, the arrested duo hailed from the Javvadumalai area of Tiruvannamalai district in Tamil Nadu. The sleuths also recovered nine red sanders logs from their possession.
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