Ill-equipped cops face red sanders smugglers

Kadapa: With no weapons to protect themselves coupled with poor communication facilities and hardly any vehicular support, the special party police, who work in tandem with the forest department, face serious problems during combing operations to rein in red sanders smuggling in the district.
It is virtually difficult for the police even to protect themselves when they are attacked by miscreants.

There are several instances when the cops ran for their lives after they were attacked by smugglers. The personnel of both the police and forest departments have very few weapons and poor communication facilities. For instance, three days ago the police tasted bitter experience during the scuffle with wood cutters when they were attacked with axes and stones at Dalipalli forest in Railway Kodur mandal. The police were able to detain only two miscreants out of the 30 persons indulged in the crime due to lack of logistical support.

In some other instances, the police could not contact the headquarters though they are well aware of red sanders dumps hidden at a particular place in the forest due to the outdated and substandard communication instruments.According to sources, a 10-member team, which proposes to perform combing operations in dense forest, is provided with only three instruments for communication with one of them operated by the team leader while the other two were given to the remaining nine members. During the combing operation, they find it hard to pass on information at least among the team members.When contacted, Superintendent of Police P Ramakrishna admitted that there were some practical problems the police face during the combing operations and he already brought the issue to the notice of the higher officials who would solve them very soon.

By:Srinivas Rao