Smugglers force rangers to fire
Seshachalam forest area on Tuesday once again reverberated with sounds of gunfire
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-06-10 06:13 GMT
Tirupati/Anantapur: Seshachalam forest area on Tuesday once again reverberated with sounds of gunfire when forest guards opened fire in the air to scare away a group of smugglers who they stumbled upon near Vagetikona at Balayyapalli forest close to Koduru.
According to forest and taskforce officials, the forest guards fired into the air when the smugglers, carrying red sander logs pelted stones at them. Sources said, a 15-member group of smugglers and woodcutters, suspected to belonging to Tamil Nadu, were hacking the red sanders trees in the forest. With the recent encounter fresh in their minds, the smugglers fled for safety and the guards remained in the forest till early hours of Tuesday.
The foresters found 1.50 tonnes of red sanders logs worth Rs 40 lakh in the morning when they went in search of the smugglers. Combing operations were intensified with additional forces to catch the smugglers who had pelted stones at the foresters.
Task force DIG Kantha Rao rushed to Kadapa and reviewed the situation with forest officials.