In a major mishap that took place at Gotur close to the Kadapa airport, four people suspected of smuggling red sanders were charred to death as the cars they were travelling in rammed the diesel tank of the truck, resulting in a fire. According to police, the smugglers from Salem, involving Kadapa locals tried to evade police checking, which led to the vehicles crash into the truck on the Kadapa Tadipatri road. Two survivors identified as Mani from Salem and another Murthy were rushed to Kadapa’s RIMS hospital.
“We have intensified anti-red sanders smuggling operations. The two cars fled and went out of vision. The car rammed into a diesel tank of the truck. Both the vehicles were gutted in the fire. Three died on the spot and one died at the hospital. Two others have sustained burn injuries,” Anburajan, Kadapa SP said, adding that the deceased were yet to be identified.
One of the accused has been taken into custody by the police for investigation, as police found charred red sanders logs at the location. It is known that there are several entry points for red sanders smugglers to enter Kadapa from neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.