KV Palli (Andhra Pradesh): In a shocking incident, a constable of Andhra Pradesh's anti-red sanders smuggling task force was killed after being run over by a group of Red sanders smugglers while trying to flee near KV Palli in the state's Annamayya district on Monday. Sources said the incident took place late on Monday night while the police were conducting vehicle checking at Cheenepalle of KVPally Mandal.
The vehicle checkpoint was set up following specific intelligence inputs about sandalwood smuggling in the area, they said. Constable Ganesh (30) tried to stop the vehicle carrying red sandalwood. While escaping, the smugglers hit him with a vehicle and fled. The seriously injured constable died while being taken to Pileru Hospital, an official said.
During the confrontation between the smugglers and the anti-smuggling task force, the latter arrested two smugglers and seized seven logs of sandalwood. However, three more smugglers managed to flee from the spot. Police have launched a massive manhunt to nab the fleeing smugglers. Significantly, the Andhra government had in 2014 set up the red-sanders anti-smuggling task force to tackle smuggling.
Pertinently, in March of 2022, the Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and Customs had foiled a major red sanders smuggling bid by seizing around 2500 kg of the red sanders hidden in a container at Cochin Port Trust. Officials had said at the time was being smuggled to Dubai in a ship. But the DRI and Customs foiled the smuggling bid after intelligence inputs.
