After killings, red sanders task force may lose powerful arms :The government will also improve the mobility of the staff in areas with red sanders

By Udumula Sudhakar Reddy

The AP cops are in a dilemma on whether or not to take away powerful automatic and semi-automatic weapons from the Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force and equip them with the regular .303 rifles and short-arm weapons.

Senior officers of AP police and the forest department are divided over this. A section of officials has asked for the powerful weapons to be taken away from the force in the wake of the April 7 encounter killings at the Seshchalam forest in Tirupati. Another section wants the task force to have weapons in due to the alleged threat from sanders smugglers.

The forests in AP are lucrative targets activities like smuggling, mining and poaching. 

A top official of AP police said that no decision had been taken. “Red sanders smugglers are dangerous and there are instances where they are armed. Any decision to take away powerful weapons from the task force will send the wrong signals,” he said.

The AP police which came under severe criticism after the Seshachalam encounter distanced itself from task force saying was is a separate entity.

“The task force has cops and foresters on deputation and is led by the forest chief and is not the direct command of the police. There is a wrong perception that is under the control of police,” said an official.