Five Tamil Nadu men, allegedly involved in red sanders smuggling, were charred to death when the cars in which they were speeding collided with a tipper in Kadapa district on Monday morning.
The incident occurred at about 4 am on Monday morning near Goturu village.
Four men travelling in a Scorpio were killed on the spot as their vehicle went up in flames due to the collision with the tipper's diesel engine. The accompanying Etios car also caught fire and one among the three men in it also succumbed to the burns.
Two men who were severely injured are undergoing treatment in a Kadapa hospital.
Several burnt red sanders logs were found inside the Scorpio.
All the men are identified as from Salem and Villupuram districts of Tamil Nadu.
Some local TV reports claimed that the Etios car is of a local “Isaac” gang, who were chasing the Tamil Nadu men for the logs.
However, speaking to DH, Kadapa superintendent of police KKN Anburajan said that no such evidence has been established yet.
“We are investigating the matter in depth. As of now, they all appear to be smugglers from Tamil Nadu,” Anburajan said.
The Seshachalam forests spread over the Chittoor and Kadapa districts of Andhra Pradesh are famous for the Red sandalwood or Red sanders wood which has huge demand in countries like China.
Despite a special task force formation over five years back, hundreds of arrests and seizures of the priced wood in thousands of tonnes, the smuggling continues to be rampant in these two districts. Almost all the men involved in the illegal activity like cutting and transportation of the logs are stated to be from Tamil Nadu.
“We have stepped up our vigilance with increased combing operations in the forests, setting up check-posts,” the SP said.