Hyderabad: Thirteen sandalwood trees were chopped down and smuggled from the sprawling Indira Park in the heart of the city.
According to the police, the management of the park noticed that 13 trees were cut down, allegedly by persons in collusion with some park staff. The trees are suspected to have been cut on Sunday and the logs were shifted out in some vehicle to an unknown destination. Forest officials have been informed about the theft, police said, adding that the park management had approached the Gandhinagar police, who then registered a case and took up investigation.
The police are trying to identify the vehicle which was used to shift the trees from the park so as to identify those behind the crime. For this, CCTV camera footage from near the park is being analyzed. The park, spread on about 75 acres, has seen such sandalwood theft earlier too.
Cases of sandalwood theft were also reported from parks in the city including KBR Park and the Deccan Park housing the Qutb Shahi Tombs a few years ago.
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