Archive · 16 Dec 2025
Two Red Sanders Smugglers Sentenced to Five Years
Two men from Tamil Nadu were caught smuggling red sanders, a special kind of wood, from a protected forest in Tirupati.
They were caught in 2017 and after a long trial, the court decided they were guilty.
The court sentenced them to five years in jail and made them pay a big fine of Rs 6 lakh.
The case was part of a special effort by the government to stop people from illegally cutting and selling red sanders.
The men are now in jail in Nellore.
Two men, Vijaya Kumar and M. Mani, were sentenced to five years in jail for smuggling red sanders.
They were caught in 2017 in the Seshachalam Reserve Forest in Tirupati district.
The court also fined them Rs 6 lakh for their crime.
The case was part of a special review by the Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force.
The convicts were shifted to Nellore Central Jail after the court's order.
- Who
- Vijaya Kumar and M. Mani, natives of Tiruvannamalai district, Tamil Nadu
- What
- Illegal felling and transportation of red sanders
- When
- Arrested in 2017, sentenced in 2023
- Where
- Seshachalam Reserve Forest, Tirupati district
- Why
- To prevent illegal smuggling of red sanders
- Convicts
- Vijaya Kumar and M. Mani
- Sentence
- Five years' rigorous imprisonment
- Fine
- Rs 6 lakh
- Location of Crime
- Seshachalam Reserve Forest, Tirupati district
- Arrest Year
- 2017
- Court
- Red Sanders Special (RSS) Court, Tirupati
- Judge
- Additional district and Sessions Judge Narasimha Murthy
- Task Force
- Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force (RSASTF)