The Red Sandal Smugglers Encounter that took place in Seshachalam forest this morning had taken a racial slur after three APSRTC buses were burnt in Chennai for allegedly killing of 20 smugglers belonging to Tamil Nadu. All the political parties in Tamil Nadu came in the support of the smugglers for the sole reason of them being Tamil Origin.
Earlier in the day, a Tamil organization have called for attacking people of Andhra Pradesh origin and their properties in retaliation to the encounter. Security was beefed up in such areas in Chennai but the violence can not be still evaded.
Red sandal is an endangered tree with a lot of demand overseas and in the country but is abundantly found in Seshachalam forest. The demand for this wood invoked a lot of smuggling activities in the area. Chandrababu Naidu government had constituted a special task force and given a lot of special privileges and modern weapons to combat the minutest traces of the Red sanders mafia.
