Pune: Alert security personnel nabbed two out of four men for chopping and stealing seven sandalwood trees worth Rs 46,000 from the premises of National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) in Pashan around 3.20am on Aug 29.The suspects, Babu Lokhande (56) and Suresh Patale (28), both residents of Kedgaon and Khutbav villages in Daund, suffered minor injuries after NCL’s security men used force to overpower them, said assistant inspector Amol Dhas of the Chatushrungi police.Dhas said four men jumped over the NCL’s compound wall from the rear side and chopped the trees using hacksaw blades.“When the security guards patrolling the campus reached the spot and found their movements suspicious, they alerted the city police control room,” he said.A police team arrived at the site, but the thieves, upon seeing the guards chasing them, attempted to scale the compound wall. The guards overpowered Lokhande and Patale, while two others escaped with wooden logs in a car and fled towards Pashan.“The duo attacked the guards in a bid to escape. In retaliation, the guards hit them with batons, overpowered them, and handed them over to the police,” Dhas said.A wooden log was recovered from the duo.The police officer said investigations revealed that the four men conducted a recce from outside the NCL campus at night using searchlights and identified the sandalwood trees.“A police team has been dispatched to trace their accomplices to recover the chopped trees, hacksaw blades, and the car used in the crime,” Dhas said.NCL’s senior security officer Parag Chitnavis has registered an FIR under sections 303 (2) (theft) and 3 (5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. “The security personnel have been sensitised to remain vigilant because the campus is prone to sandalwood thefts,” he added.Calls and messages to NCL’s administrative officer Samira Kulkarni went unanswered.(With inputs from Ardhra Nair)
