Five forest staff suspended in Tirupattur over red sanders theft
Five forest department staff members in Tirupattur have been suspended following the theft of 1.75 tonnes of red sanders from a government depot. Police are currently investigating the incident while also pursuing separate leads on illegal timber smuggling in the region.
Why it matters
The incident exposes security vulnerabilities in government-managed wildlife and timber storage facilities.
Five forest staff attached to Tirupattur forest range were suspended on Thursday in connection with the theft of 1.75 tonnes of red sanders, estimated at around ₹50 lakh, from the Government Sandalwood Depot in Tirupattur town a few days ago.
Forest officials said that M. Mahendran, District Forest Officer (DFO), Tirupattur, has suspended the staff concerned based on an inquiry. They were identified as N. Jothilingam, Head Forest Guard; Forest Guards R. Mohan Kumar, P. Rammurthy, and C. Renu; and P. Paramaguru, forester.
Forest officials said that the suspended staff were on duty on July 18 when the incident took place in the depot. During a routine inspection of stocks in the depot, a team of forest officials found that a total of 55 wooden logs of red sanders, which weighed around 1.75 tonnes, were missing.
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