Tirupati Superintendent of Police L. Subbarayudu and RSASTF SP P. Srinivas inspecting red sander logs recently recovered from a warehouse in Gujarat. | Photo credit: KV Purnachandra Kumar
Gone are the days when sleuths of the Red Sander Anti-Smuggling Task Force (RSASTF) randomly stopped speeding vehicles on highways to seize valuable red sander logs smuggled from the Seshachalam forest.
Armed with accurate intelligence inputs, trained manpower and accurate tracking mechanisms, task force teams are now ready to zero in on crime scenes and nab the criminals before they cut down red dunder trees.
The year 2024 was eventful for the Tirupati HQ RSASTF in terms of cases brought to the stage of recovery of red sander logs, arrest and conviction of criminals.
For the first time since its formation in 2016, the task force has given top priority to train its manpower at the Police Training College (PTC) at Kalyani Dam near Tirupati.
By adopting a proper teaching methodology, personnel are trained to gather accurate intelligence, patrol hostile areas, use technology to track suspicious activities and pin down entry or exit points.
A blessing in disguise
Being an election year, 2024 came as a blessing in disguise. Setting up checkposts at district and state borders to cut down on distribution of cash and goods to voters discouraged smugglers from entering the forest.
As a result, the number of registered cases has dropped from 180 in 2023 to 94 this year, but the number of people arrested has declined steadily from 586 in 2023 to 413 (by the end of November). Last year, 1,542 logs were seized, and this number has reached 1,794 during the same period.
Major Shipping
The biggest catch so far for the RSASTF came in December when operatives seized 155 high-quality logs worth ₹ 3.5 crore from a godown in Gujarat’s Patan city.
This information was obtained while interrogating a group of smugglers arrested in Sanipaya of Annamay district.
With the help of Gujarat Police, the RSASTF team arrested Uttamkumar Nand Kishore Soni of Disa city, Joshi Hansraj Virjai and Pareshji Kanthiji Thakur of Patan. They raided the godown and seized 155 pieces of wood weighing 4,952.2 kg.
“Amid many hurdles, the accused and the logs were produced in the court and brought to Tirupati under transit warrant,” Superintendent of Police (Tirupati district) L. Subbarayudu said that a manhunt has been launched to nab the kingpin.
A drone with a thermal camera
In line with the state government’s resolve to embrace technology, the RSASTF is all set to get the ‘tech edge’ soon with a proposal to deploy drones equipped with thermal cameras.
Unlike conventional drones, these surveillance drones will have a long flight range of up to 10 km, low rolling noise and night vision.
“Our operations team monitors suspicious activity and guides field staff, who can rush to the spot and arrest the culprits,” Superintendent of Police (RSASTF) P. Srinivas says.
Similarly, their focus is on back-end officials to ensure compliance with charge-sheet filing procedures, enforcement of the PD Act against habitual offenders and full follow-up with the judiciary to take cases to the sentencing stage.
published – Dec 24, 2024 at 08:27 pm IST