Three red sanders smugglers arrested

HYDERABAD: Police have arrested three red sanders smugglers for their role in the murder of their associate at Palmakul village two months ago.
The Shamshabad police arrested Ch Shiva Reddy, T Erra Swamy from Anantapur and J Sailu alias Sai Yadav of Mahbubnagar. Their associate Babu from Chittoor is absconding. Police said the trio, who are red sanders smugglers, had murdered their associate, A Ramanjaneyulu, 30, of Anantapur on October 5.
Narrating the sequence of events that culminated in the murder of Ramanjaneyulu, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Shamshabad, K Ramesh Naidu said that it was a pre-planned murder. Among the trio, Babu owns a truck and Ramanjeneyulu used to work as his driver. The gang used to purchase red sanders from various places and smuggle them in the truck to Hyderabad and other cities for disposal.
During one such trip, the truck met with an accident at Railway Kodur in Kadapa district and the red sanders load was shifted to a secret den in Chittoor district. When Babu and other members were busy dealing with the police case, driver Ramanjaneyulu stole and sold a portion of the red sanders from the den.
Babu and others discovered this in the first week of October and they called Ramanjaneyulu to Chittoor and thrashed him. As Ramanjenayulu was unwilling to accept his mistake, they brought him to the city on October 4. They checked into room number 206 at VG Residency hotel in Shamshabad.
“In the wee hours of October 5, the gang smothered Ramanjaneyulu to death with a pillow. Later in the night, they transported the body on a bike and dumped it at an isolated place in Palmakul village of Shamshabad,” the DCP said. Alerted by locals, the Shamshabad police reached the spot on October 6 and shifted the body for a post-mortem examination. A suspicious death case was booked. With the help of a telephone diary found in the trouser pocket of the victim, police were able to establish his identity.
During the probe, police came to know that Ramanjaneyulu used to work with the trio in red sanders smuggling and that all of them had left for Chittoor on October 4. Based on this alert, police took Shiva Reddy into custody recently from Kottur where he owns a godown. On interrogation, he confessed to the crime. Based on his confession, other two were lured to the city and arrested on Saturday night.
Subsequently, police raided the godown at Kottur and red sanders weighing about a tonne were seized. The trio was produced before a magistrate, who remanded them in judicial custody.