32 Tamil Nadu woodcutters held

Tirupati: The dramatic arrest of 32 woodcutters from Tamil Nadu, near Renigunta before venturing into Seshachalam forests, once again proved the efficiency of police in tackling smuggling of red sanders logs.

Acting on a tip-off, police made meticulous planning which saw the nabbing of the 32-member group including 29 from Tiruvannamalai district, two from Vellore and one from Chengalpattu district of Tamil Nadu.

Police maintained that the woodcutters were arrested on Friday at a desolated place in Venkatapuram in Renigunta mandal, where they assembled near a graveyard, planning to disperse into small groups to go into the forests, preempting their move to enter the forest for felling red sanders trees for smuggling.

But a section of the media based in Chennai reported that they were arrested in Renigunta railway station while they were coming on a train from Tiruttani, on Thursday night. Renigunta police said that they also seized 20 cell phones, 20 axes and 10 bags of rice from the possession of the woodcutters.

The meticulous operation indicated police upper hand in dealing with the red sanders operatives as they could nab the woodcutters before reaching the forests. This also revealed that despite stern measures in place against smuggling in Chittoor and Kadapa districts, it is no way deterring people from Tamil Nadu indulging in illegal red sanders smuggling.