11 sandalwood trees stolen from Delhi Zoo

The trees are suspected to have been cut on Wednesday night and in the early hours of Thursday, with zoo staff finding about it on Thursday afternoon.

As many as 11 sandalwood trees have been allegedly cut and stolen from the Delhi Zoo premises, officials said on Friday.

11 sandalwood trees stolen from Delhi Zoo

The trees are suspected to have been cut on Wednesday night and in the early hours of Thursday, with zoo staff finding about it on Thursday afternoon. The zoo officials said that they have filed a complaint with the police.

Zoo officials said the suspects could have entered from Sunder Nursery side. They added that the trees were cut near the residence of the zoo staff and the Azimganj Sarai, a 16th century inn that is located within the zoo premises.

“We discovered the theft on Thursday afternoon and the thieves are likely to have done it overnight between Wednesday night and Thursday morning. It is believed they entered by jumping the wall between Sunder Nursery and the zoo. The wall surrounding the staff quarters was also found damaged. We have registered a complaint with the Delhi Police,” said Akanksha Mahajan, Director, Delhi Zoo.

She said a number of the missing trees were fairly close to her residence. She added that the incident has also been recorded on the CCTV cameras installed within the zoo premises, and added that the footage will be shared with the police.

Deputy commissioner of police (south east) Esha Pandey could not be reached for a comment despite repeated attempts.

Mahajan added that a show cause notice has been issued to the security agency deployed at the Delhi Zoo. She said security will be further tightened at night.

Deputy commissioner of police (south-east) Esha Pandey could not be reached for a comment despite repeated attempts.