Congress MLC Wants Probe Into Red Sander-Smuggling

Congress senior leader and MLC P Venkat Rao on Tuesday demanded judicial enquiry into the red sandalwood smuggling in the state.

Talking to reporters at the Congress Legislature Party office here, Venkat Rao alleged that sandalwood mafia was active in several districts, especially in Kadapa, Chittoor, Khammam and Krishna districts. He said hundreds of tonnes of Red Sandalwood were being smuggled out of Andhra Pradesh due to the negligence of forest officials. He accused the Chief Conservator of Forests of not taking adequate measures to stop the smuggling.

Venkat Rao demanded that Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy order a judicial enquiry into the red sandalwood smuggling in the state. Else, he said that the Chief Minister should at least appoint honest and efficient officials to check the menace. (INN)