Panchkula police arrest 4 for illegal cutting, theft of Khair wood

The accused were identified as Salim Khan, alias Salim, Isran and Yunus, alias Bhura, all residents of Yamunanagar, and Usman, a resident of Himachal Pradesh

Following investigations, the Panchkula Sector 26 crime branch on Friday arrested four persons for illegal cutting and theft of Khair wood.

The accused were produced in court and remanded to two days of police custody for further interrogation. (HT)

The accused were identified as Salim Khan, alias Salim, Isran and Yunus, alias Bhura, all residents of Yamunanagar, and Usman, a resident of Himachal Pradesh.

The accused were produced in court and remanded to two days of police custody for further interrogation to identify other persons involved and to recover tools used in cutting the trees.

Earlier on October 24, police had received a tip-off that two pickup vehicles loaded with stolen Khair wood were moving from Pinjore toward Panchkula.

A checkpoint was up, but the drivers abandoned the vehicles and fled upon seeing the police. Both vehicles were seized.

Khair wood is highly valued for its use in furniture, plywood and traditional medicine.

The Panchkula crime branch also solved two theft cases involving stolen e-rickshaw batteries and a motorcycle.

In the first case, the Sector 19 crime branch team arrested Rohit, alias Prajapati, a resident of Peer Muchalla, Mohali, for stealing e-rickshaw batteries from the parking area of Civil Hospital, Sector 6. Police recovered three stolen batteries from his possession. He has been sent to judicial custody.

In a separate case, the detective staff team arrested Amandeep Singh, alias Tutri, a resident of Kalka, in connection with a motorcycle theft reported at Sector 7 police station in Panchkula.

On June 22, he allegedly stole a bike parked outside a house in Sector 2. Another accused, Suraj, had already been arrested earlier, and the stolen motorcycle was recovered. Amandeep has been sent to judicial custody.

The Sector 19 crime branch also solved a gold chain-snatching case with the arrest of two accused — Amit Rawal and Devender Singh. During interrogation, they confessed to snatching a gold chain from a woman walking in Sector 11 in September. The stolen gold chain has been recovered, and both accused have been remanded to judicial custody..