Sandalwood thief arrested by Nagpur police

Police said they arrested an alleged sandalwood thief after chasing him for a few kilometres on Wednesday in Maharashtra's Nagpur city.

The accused, Asif Pathan (22), a resident of Katora Bazargaon in Jalna district of central Maharashtra, attacked police personnel when they tried to nab him in the Sitabuldi area, they said.

It may be mentioned here that a series of theft of sandalwood trees had been reported in Nagpur in the recent months. Of these, two took place inside the Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the Maharashtra governor in Nagpur.

According to the police, Pathan and his accomplice were cutting a sandalwood tree in a medicinal plant nursery in the Civil Lines area on late Tuesday night when local residents spotted them and alerted the cops.

When the police arrived at the spot, the duo fled on a two-wheeler.

The police nabbed Pathan after a chase, while his accomplice managed to escape, they said.

An axe, a cutter and two sandalwood pieces were seized from him, the police said.

Sandalwood is a precious wood found only in India. It is an endangered plant species, protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora list, whose export and import was banned in 1994.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)