Bengaluru: Inspired by Allu Arjun starrer ‘Pushpa: The Rise’, a Bengaluru-based driver attempted to smuggle red sandalwood in his truck in ‘real’ life. However, his attempt was foiled after he was detained.
The accused, Yasin Inayithulla, was smuggling red sandalwood in his truck en route from the Karnataka-Andhra border to Maharashtra.
Actin on reliable inputs about illegal transportation of sandalwood, a joint operation was launched. During this, Maharashtra police in Gandhi Chowk of Meeraj Nagar in Sangli district nabbed the accused after his vehicle was intercepted.
During the raid, police found around 1 ton of sandalwood worth Rs 2.45 cr and the vehicle is worth Rs 10 lakhs.
A case has been registered against the accused under IPC sections 379, 34 and various sections of the forest act.
In the movie Pushpa, actor Allu Arjun is seen smuggling red sandalwood by loading wood in the truck first, followed by milk. Inspired by this scene, Yasin had loaded the truck with red sandalwood first and on top of that, he loaded fruits and vegetable boxes. On the vehicle, he had pasted a sticker of COVID-19 essential products.
