Guwahati: A Bengaluru-based driver attempted to smuggle red sandalwood in his truck in ‘real’ life, who was inspired after watching the movie ‘Pushpa’.
The driver has been identified as Inayithulla is a resident of Karnataka.
In the movie, Pushpa hides the red sandalwood by loading the truck with milk whereas Inayithulla hides the red sandalwood by using fruits and vegetables.
According to reports, Inayithulla was smuggling red sandalwood on his truck across the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border and into Maharashtra, but he was apprehended by Maharashtra police in Gandhi Chowk of Sangli district, as soon as he reached the Maharashtra border.
The police officials seized Rs 2.5 crore worth of red sandalwood in his truck along with the truck worth ₹10 lakh.
Dikshit Gedam, Sangli Superintendent of Police informed, “We had received confidential information about illegal transportation of sandalwood. Based on this tip-off, we launched a joint operation with the forest officials and carried out a raid at Zakat Nakka.”
“We had registered the case under IP sections 379, 34 and various sections of the forest act have also been invoked,” SP Gedam added.