63 Tamil woodcutters held, red sanders worth Rs 2 crore seized
April 13, 2015 10:32
The Andhra Pradesh police have arrested 63 Tamil woodcutters suspected of smuggling sandalwood. Around 40 logs of red sanders wood worth Rs 2 crore has been seized from them, CNN IBN reports.
The arrest comes after the killing of 20 alleged red sanders smugglers by the Andhra Pradesh police in the forests of Chittoor last Tuesday.
The Andhra Pradesh police claim that the men were notorious smugglers of red sandalwood and were killed after they attacked a police team. They claimed that the team was outnumbered and fired in self-defence.
However, the police version has been questioned after eye-witnessesclaim that least 12 of those shot dead were pulled off a bus by Andhra policemen and arrested hours before the alleged encounter.
Image: Police personnel after the 'encounter' with alleged red sanders smugglers in Chittoor district last week. Photograph: PTI
The arrest comes after the killing of 20 alleged red sanders smugglers by the Andhra Pradesh police in the forests of Chittoor last Tuesday.
The Andhra Pradesh police claim that the men were notorious smugglers of red sandalwood and were killed after they attacked a police team. They claimed that the team was outnumbered and fired in self-defence.
However, the police version has been questioned after eye-witnessesclaim that least 12 of those shot dead were pulled off a bus by Andhra policemen and arrested hours before the alleged encounter.
Image: Police personnel after the 'encounter' with alleged red sanders smugglers in Chittoor district last week. Photograph: PTI
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