13 held for trying to cut red sanders trees

Tirupati: The Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force (RSASTF) sleuths arrested 13 persons for attempting to illegally cut down red sanders trees in a restricted forest near Kallur on Tuesday.

Acting under the directives of Tirupati District SP L Subbarayudu and Task Force SP P Srinivas, the RSASTF team led by DSP G Balireddy seized two vehicles, a motorcycle, iron axes and other equipment. Officials reported that the suspects were caught near a prohibited zone, attempting to escape upon spotting the Task Force personnel. While some managed to evade capture, 13 individuals, including 10 from Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvannamalai district and others from Kallakurichi and Chittoor, were detained.

The suspects were taken to the Tirupati Task Force police station, where CI Suresh Kumar registered a case and launched further investigation.