India News | 'Pushpa' Inspired Smugglers Held on Tip off from Mathura
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Seven people who formed a red sandalwood smuggling gang taking inspiration from Allu Arjun movie 'Pushpa' were arrested from Mathura, sources from the Special Task Force (STF) said here on Tuesday.
Lucknow, Dec 20 (PTI) Seven people who formed a red sandalwood smuggling gang taking inspiration from Allu Arjun movie 'Pushpa' were arrested from Mathura, sources from the Special Task Force (STF) said here on Tuesday.
Deepak alias Dalveer, Ajit Kumar Yadav, Sumit alias Ram, Chandra Pratap alias Babbu, Sumit Das, Jitendra, and Ranjit were arrested on a tip off from Highway Police Station on Monday, an STF release issued here said.
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In the operation conducted jointly with a Forest department team, 563 kg red sandalwood worth about Rs 2 crore was recovered from them, they said.
The accused were in Mathura to sell the sandalwood, it said.
According to the STF, the accused confessed they took inspiration from 'Pushpa: The rise' and decided on making a quick buck stealing the expensive wood.
The gang kept the wood with one Rana, a resident of Delhi, who has a timber chamber licence.
They brought the red sandalwood illegally from Andhra Pradesh and sold it at religious places and nearby areas of Mathura, STF said.
An FIR has been registered against the seven men at Highway Police Station under relevant sections of IPC and other acts.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)