Amid high drama, notorious red sanders smuggler Mukesh Badani was brought to Kadapa from Hisar in Haryana on Monday.
Police closely guarded Badani as he alighted from AP Sampark Kranti Express and was shifted to a waiting police vehicle. A posse of policemen was posted at the railway station as a precautionary measure. The area was cordoned off, and police did not allow the media to approach Badani.
Kadapa Superintendent of Police Naveen Gulati said Badani would be kept in a police station for interrogation during the night and would be taken to the designated court at Badvel on Tuesday. Badani was arrested by the Kadapa police at Hissar in Haryana a couple of days ago.
The SP said Badani had links with several key local smugglers in Kadapa district and had smuggled out several tonnes of logs to his godown in Haryana. He dismissed Badani’s claims that he was a bona fide trader.
“We will probe this case from all angles. We still have four days to produce him in court. But, we will produce him in court tomorrow [Tuesday] and seek his custody,” Mr Gulati said. The Badvel and Railway Kodur police have filed FIRs on Badani in two cases of red sanders smuggling. Referring to red sanders logs worth over Rs. 20 crore seized in Haryana, the SP said a truck had been engaged to bring them back to Kadapa. “As per proceedings, we have to weigh and mark every log before shifting them to Kadapa,” he added.
We still have four days to produce him [Badani] in court. But, we will produce him in court tomorrow [Tuesday] and seek his custody.
Naveen Gulati,
Superintendent of Police,
Kadapa
