https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

The Side Effects of ‘Pushpa’

Encouraged by the film, ‘Pushpa: The Rise’, criminals are trying out ingenious methods to smuggle rare and valuable wood across states.
Indian Masterminds Stories

Pushpa: The Rise, the blockbuster movie, is giving rise to many wannabe Pushpas, much to the police’s annoyance! In many states like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, criminals have fallen into the cops’ net after trying to copy the hero’s modus operandi in the film to smuggle red sander wood under the noses of the police. However, these wannabes, who wanted to be a hero like the protagonist ‘Pushpa’, ended up being a big zero!

The movie is an action thriller and portrays somewhat unrealistic ways of smuggling rare and expensive wood across states to be exported to faraway countries. But it leaves its own side effects, as was seen in a few cases where several criminals tried to become ‘Pushpa’ by attempting to smuggle rare wood across states but ended up behind bars in Shamli, Maharashtra, Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, and in New Delhi.

Indian Masterminds spoke with IPS officers Akash Tomar (SSP) and Preeti Yadav of Saharanpur as well as IPS officer Harendra Singh, the DCP of Delhi Railways Police, to know the whole stories of the real-life smugglers who tried to copy reel life methods but failed miserably because of an alert police force.

CAUGHT RED HANDED IN DELHI

Around 2 pm on February 3, a Railway Police team noticed a person moving around in a suspicious manner near Gate No. 1, Paharganj side, New Delhi Railway Station, carrying a blue colour trolley bag. On questioned by the police team about the contents inside the bag, he gave evasive replies.

“His bag was checked, and one red colour log was recovered. To identify the recovered log, District Forest Range Officer was called to the spot, who identified the recovered log as red sandalwood,” DCP Harendra Singh said.

ACTION TAKEN

In this regard, a case under Indian Forest Act was registered at New Delhi Railway Police Station and the recovered sandalwood was seized. The accused was identified as Arif from the city.

“During sustained interrogation, he confessed that he is involved in the smuggling of red sandalwood from Vishakhapatnam to Delhi. The cost of recovered illegal redwood is around Rs. 5 lacs in the international market.”

Accused Arif disclosed that he along with his other associates were smuggling the illegal redwood from Vishakhapatnam to Delhi and supplying to a gang. They smuggled the red sandalwood to the national capital by trains concealing it inside trolley bags. The 46-year-old man is a member of a large syndicate supplying sandalwood in Delhi. Till now, 42.5 kgs of red sandalwood has been recovered from him.

“Further investigation of the case is in progress. Several teams have been constituted to raid different locations in Delhi and other states to apprehend other people involved in this whole racket,” Mr. Singh told Indian Masterminds.

‘PUSHPA’ IN SAHARANPUR

In another incident, the Saharanpur Police of Uttar Pradesh caught smugglers trying to smuggle banned ‘khair’ wood across states. An area of ​​Saharanpur passes through the forests of Dehradun. Therefore, teak and khair wood are smuggled here on a large scale.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr. Akash Tomar launched a campaign to capture the smugglers, and a police team under him arrested Bilal and Chavez Gangoh, residents of Saharanpur, who were trying to smuggle hundreds of tonnes of khair wood in a truck.

“We have recovered 11050 kg of banned khair wood from Gagalhedi area. The cost of wood has been estimated at Rs 20 lakh. Along with the truck, two accused have also been arrested,” said the officer.

After interrogation of the accused, the police have started looking for their associates. They are trying to get to the bottom of the wood smugglers and expose the whole racket.

INCIDENT IN SANGLI

Similarly, Sangli Police in Maharashtra also caught hold of accused Yasin Inayithulla who had loaded his truck with red sandalwood and had covered it with fruits and vegetable boxes to smuggle them into the state from Karnataka.

Yasin had successfully crossed Karnataka-Andhra border but was nabbed after entering Gandhi Chowk area at Meeraj Nagar in Sangli district of Maharashtra. Around 1 ton of sandalwood worth Rs 2.45 crore were seized by the police.

No doubt the film, Pushpa: The Rise, encouraged many small-time smugglers to attempt big, hoping they would be able to give police the slip, but, instead, they all ended up behind bars, proving that ‘reel life’, when emulated in real life, does not always have a happy ending!


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
Odisha Government
Odisha Elevates Two Promising IFS Officers to Senior Time Scale, Strengthening Forest Leadership - Know More About Them
Yogi Adityanath UP
Uttar Pradesh Floods: CM Yogi Adityanath Forms ‘Team-11’ for Swift and Transparent Flood Relief Across 12 Districts
DGR Job Fair
DGR Job Fair 2025 Held in Delhi to Empower Ex-Servicemen with Career Opportunities in Emerging Tech - Details Inside
omc
Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) Begins Dispatch from Dubna Mines, Strengthening Supply Chain and Industrial Growth
NFDC
NFDC Launches Free Residential 3D Animation & VFX Training for North East Youth - Here's All You Need To Know
CM Yogi
CM Yogi Adityanath Reviews Rs. 42,891 Crore Development Proposals for Lucknow Division, Emphasizes Timely, Inclusive Execution
Mahanadi River
Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai Assures Odisha of Consideration on an Amicable Solution to Mahanadi Water Dispute
MP News
Madhya Pradesh CM Dr. Mohan Yadav Pays Tribute to Pt. Ravishankar Shukla on His Birth Anniversary
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
IAS Karn Satyarthi
How IAS Karn Satyarthi Transformed Gumla Through Empathy and Innovation
Ananth Rupanagudi IRAS
IRAS Ananth Rupanagudi’s Take on Corruption, Reform, and Duty
WhatsApp Image 2025-07-26 at 13.16
What Most Indians Don't Know About Jim Corbett
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
BPSC Bihar police
From Lantern Light to Police Uniform: How Praveen Kumar from a Small Bihar Village Cracked BPSC to Become SDPO
From a lantern-lit village in Bihar to becoming an SDPO, Praveen Kumar's journey is a testament to resilience,...
IAS Priyansha Garg
Why Mindset Matters: IAS Priyansha Garg’s Mental Health Mantra for UPSC
After two failed prelims, Priyansha Garg cracked UPSC with AIR 31 in her fourth attempt, proving how...
Ashish Akshat
From Setback to State Topper: How Ashish Akshat Topped JPSC While Working Full-Time
Ashish Akshat from Dhanbad topped JPSC 2023, proving that resilience, discipline, and family support...
Social Media
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve: From India’s First Sanctuary to a Tiger Conservation Success Story | International Tiger Day Special
IAS Supriya Sahu Hails Mudumalai's Role in Tiger Conservation on Tiger Day. Declared in 1940, Now Among...
Mangroves
Mangroves: Nature’s Shield Against Disasters, Says Officer Parveen Kaswan on Mangroves Day - Watch His Post Here
Mangroves, with their dense, interlaced root systems, form a mesh-like structure that serves as a buffer...
Retired IPS Inderjit Singh Sidhu
Purpose Doesn’t Retire: How 88-Year-Old Retired DIG Becomes Chandigarh’s ‘Quiet Warrior’ of Cleanliness
Inderjit Singh Sidhu’s Dawn Patrol Earns Applause, Mahindra’s Praise for a Man Who Chose Action Over...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
Odisha Government
Odisha Elevates Two Promising IFS Officers to Senior Time Scale, Strengthening Forest Leadership - Know More About Them
Yogi Adityanath UP
Uttar Pradesh Floods: CM Yogi Adityanath Forms ‘Team-11’ for Swift and Transparent Flood Relief Across 12 Districts
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
IAS Karn Satyarthi
Ananth Rupanagudi IRAS
WhatsApp Image 2025-07-26 at 13.16
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT