It does not end with smuggling of red sander trees. This illegal activity has spawned a variety of criminal activities such as murder, dacoity, vehicle theft, kidnap for ransom and gang wars.
Vellore and Tiruvannamalai districts have been witnessing several grave crimes in the last two years. At least eight cases of kidnapping, four-wheeler lifting and murder involving the timber mafias have been reported in the last few months, many of which have gone unreported.
The growing gang wars pose several challenges to law-enforcing agencies.
The latest case involving a red sander gang was reported on Saturday. Three smugglers — Kathiravan, Venkatesan and Prakash of Kelarasampattu — were abducted by a Chennai-based gang on August 26 for a ransom of Rs 20 lakh.
“The gang targets red sander smugglers and abducts them for a huge ransom. We nabbed two of the gang members and rescued the trio,” informs Inspector of Vellore Taluk Station T Pandi.
The murder of Chinnapaiyan of Palur two months ago was yet another case involving a timber mafia gang operating from Irumbulli village, while a gang abducted the brother of red sander smuggler Rajesh of Padavedu for a ransom of Rs 50 lakh.
A charred body of a red sander smuggler, a native of Tiruvannamalai, was found in the forest area in Chittoor district bordering Vellore two weeks ago. Police suspect that he was murdered by his rival gang.
Timber mafia gangs are growing from strength to strength and their tentacles are spreading to northern parts of the State and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
A senior police official recollects a daring act of a red sander gang in September 2013. A gang of seven smugglers wielding deadly weapons attacked their counterpart ‘Bonda’ Venkatesan and his associates, who were having tea in Sri Durga Bhavan Hotel at the heart of the city. They abducted one Chandran of Nammakal over a dispute following a money transaction.
“Such crimes will increase drastically if the government fails to take a strong stance against the gangs of organised crime,” opines another police officer.
‘My cousin subjected to third-degree treatment’
R ajesh (name changed) was into woodcutting till about a year ago. No longer. Now 26, he recounts how he witnessed his cousin’s torture in the hands of Andhra forest officials. He had ventured into the forest more than 10 times till a year ago. After a few more trips, he mastered the routes and learned survival tricks. He decided to do it on his own and lured his friends from Vellore.
His brother was also part of the group. “A year ago, we were surrounded by personnel of the task force. While I managed to escape, my cousin was caught. They tied him in a tree branch upside down and beat him up using tree branches for hours. I watched this from afar. They produced him in a court after keeping him in illegal custody for 22 days,” says Rajesh.
“I was petrified to step into the forest after the incident. I was arrested while transporting logs near Virunjipuram and spent the next 24 days in Vellore central prison. So, I decided to opt out the risky business,” he said.
Unemployment drives us to the trade: Woodcutter
Lack of employment forced Vigash, 23, (name changed) of Valliyur into red sander smuggling four years ago. He was then a school dropout.
“My aim of life is to earn well, spend well and enjoy life. So, I had no second thought when I was offered a job as a woodcutter. For every single trip, I earn anything between Rs 50,000 and Rs 75,000. After the encounters, I am not willing to go inside the forest. But lack of employment has been forcing many youth into the high risk business. Once you step into this world, there is little hope of a return to normal life,” he says. He is waiting for his wage of Rs 1 lakh for cutting wood during his last trip. What would it take to wean him away from wood cutting?
“If I got a job that guarantees a monthly salary of Rs 10,000, I would stop.” Many youngsters echo Vigash. They admit they were into felling to help others amass wealth. They say the mesthri who lured them into the illegal activities is now a crorepati. He was a poor farmer five years ago.
Felling red sander trees and smuggling them is not an easy task. Sources say the nexus of smugglers with police and forest department personnel makes the job easy.
And the bond between the kingpins of redwood smuggling network and politicians, police and forest department officials for mutual benefit is growing. Arrests and disciplinary action against police and forest officials in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh is proof of this unholy nexus.
While former DSP of Prohibition Enforcement Wing of Vellore, K Thangavel, was suspended and later arrested in connection with red sander smuggling, the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh government has placed a DSP of the Red Sander Anti-Smuggling Special Task Force on waitlist for his alleged connection with red sander smugglers.
(Above) Newly constructed concrete houses; youth, mostly woodcutters, zipping through the village streets on speedy motorbikes | s dineshRecently, a Sub-Inspector of Police and a constable of the Andhra police department were suspended for receiving bribe from smugglers to ensure free passage for the consignments.
“It’s the tip of an iceberg,” says a reliable source in the police department, adding that the smugglers pay a substantial amount to police and forest officials at different levels to smuggle out the logs without any difficulty.
For the corrupt officials, the smugglers are like a hen laying golden eggs. “We pay forest officials so that they do not seize our consignment and also ensure that our vehicles pass their checkposts. The payment is done on an hourly basis,” a woodcutter-cum-transporter informs.
Police have not acted on some of the kingpins of the business. Kerala Babu (alias) Aseem, a top don of the smuggling business, operating from Malur remains untouched. He has connections with top level officials and politicians, it is said. “He was named as a co-accused with DSP Thangavel. The department is not showing interest to arrest him. He is moving freely and continuing his business. At present, he is camping in Chittoor,” says a police officer privy to the investigations.
Another kingpin, Kiruba, is able to continue his activities without any hindrance. He is a top notch smuggler based in Chennai. His brother was arrested recently and nearly 15 tonnes of red sander logs seized from his godown. There are many more Kriubas and Kerala Babus active in the multi-crore smuggling without any hassle.
The government should constitute a multi-agency team to keep a check on this illegal business, and put a stop to the racket, a police official said.
Notorious agents, smugglers in Jawadu hills
Balakrishnan and his brother Shanmugam of Balaprampattu, Vellaiyan and Sekar of Melnammiyampattu, Ramar, Mani and Appasamy of Nammiyampattu, Lognathan (alias) Logu of Muttunattur, Vellaiyan of Valliyur, Subramani, Alagesan and Ravi of Valliyur are a few of the agents sending youth from in and around their villages, according to reliable sources in the police department. There are several cases pending against them in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Balakrishnan and his brother Shanmugam of Balaprampattu, Vellaiyan and Sekar of Melnammiyampattu, Ramar, Mani and Appasamy of Nammiyampattu, Lognathan (alias) Logu of Muttunattur, Vellaiyan of Valliyur, Subramani, Alagesan and Ravi of Valliyur are a few of the agents sending youth from in and around their villages, according to reliable sources in the police department. There are several cases pending against them in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu
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