Forest officer killed by Red sanders smugglers
Forest officer killed by Red sanders smugglers
July 13, 2011 DC
July 12: The battle against smuggling of red sanders turned deadly with the smugglers killing a forest officer on Tuesday. Srinivasulu, who was chasing the smugglers, was found dead on the road near Panuguru village, about 35 km from the temple town. Going by the gory evidence at the site, the police surmised that the officer must have caught one of the vehicle-borne smugglers by his hair. The vehicle would have speeded up, dragging the officer down. It appeared that the smugglers might have hit him with an iron rod or a wooden log.
Police found a tuft of human hair in the officer’s uniform. There were marks of the official being dragged for about 20 metres. The road bore tyre skid marks, showing that the motorcycle had gone out of control.
The incident came to light when flying squad members from Tirupati and Srikalahasti were rushing towards Chandrapalem check post around 2.30 am on a tip-off that a vehicle carrying red sanders was on its way towards Yerpedu from Rapur forests.
They found the body of Srinivasulu lying in a pool of blood lying just 4 km from the check post. Blood was still oozing from the head injury that the officer had sustained. Srinivasulu started his career as a forest nursery worker and was recently promoted to assistant beat officer.This incident marks a dangerous escalation in the war against the smugglers. Previously, the smugglers had set off a fire in the Tirumala hills on March 21, in which over 500 hectares were burnt. On June 10, the smugglers assaulted three forest guards. On June 20, about 150 smugglers clashed with the forest and police officers.
