Hyderabad A 32-year-old armed reserve constable of the Andhra Pradesh State Anti-Red Sanders Task Force (APSRSTF) was mowed down by a car carrying logs of red sanders when he tried to intercept it in Annamayya district in the wee hours of Tuesday, a police officer said. Two of the five occupants of the vehicle were subsequently arrested, he added.

The superintendent of police (SP) of Annamayya district B Krishna Rao said that the task force received a tip-off that some people were smuggling red sander logs from the Sundupalle forest area.

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Immediately, a team of 10 personnel from the task force in Tirupati reached Cheenipalli village near Gundravaripalli crossroads. They set up a check post on the road leading to the forest. The entire area is part of the Seshachalam forest which is full of red sander trees that are smuggled.

“Around 3am, the task force team spotted a Swift Dzire coming out of the forest area. They indicated the driver to stop the vehicle. However, the driver tried to escape by swerving the vehicle towards the right. In the process, he hit constable B Ganesh who was standing on the fringes of the road,” added Rao.

The car came to a halt after ploughing into the fields adjacent to the road.

“The task force personnel arrested two people while three others managed to escape in the darkness. They seized seven red sander logs stashed under the car seats. They are worth ₹40 lakh in the international market,” stated the SP.

Meanwhile, Ganesh, who received critical injuries, was rushed to the government hospital at Pileru where he was declared dead on arrival, said the police officer, adding that the constable was a native of Puttaparthi of Sri Sathya Sai district.

Expressing condolences to the family of Ganesh, chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy announced ex gratia of ₹30 lakh to his family, Rao said.

The opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) hit out at the state ruling party for the incident.

“When Jagan is giving party tickets to red sandalwood smugglers to contest the elections, it amounts to facilitating a green channel for red sandal smuggling,” alleged TDP general secretary, Nara Lokesh.

Meanwhile, the task force is on the lookout for the absconding smugglers.

“KV Palli police booked the smugglers under Section 304 (A) (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Forest Act. The task force personnel are, meanwhile, searching for the remaining three smugglers,” added the superintendent of police.