80 Tamil Nadu red sanders woodcutters arrested in Andhra Pradesh

The Andhra Pradesh Police on Friday arrested 80 suspected red sander woodcutters from Tamil Nadu at Anjaneyapuram, 80 km from here.

The arrests were made at around 2 am when the accused were on their way to the forests in a lorry from Arcot in Tamil Nadu, said the red sanders anti-smuggling task force.

On February 28, a PIL was filed in the Madras High Court alleging that over 500 suspected woodcutters from Tamil Nadu had been “illegally detained” by the Andhra Pradesh Police.

The PIL requested the court to take an appropriate action against “erring officials” of that state.

Advocate P Pugalenthi submitted that these persons had been “illegally detained” by police of that state without even the knowledge of the Tamil Nadu government.