5 held for hacking trees in Mumbai

The arrested men told police that the banyan tree was blocking the view of a commercial hoarding that they had put up, and therefore they were not able to get a due rate for the space

Girgaum police have arrested five men from Mahim on Saturday for alleged illegal hacking a British-era banyan tree by pretending to be Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) employees. The accused were cutting the tree to allow a clear view of a commercial hoarding.

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The arrested men told police that the banyan tree was blocking the view of a commercial hoarding that they had put up, and therefore they were not able to get a due rate for the space.

According to the police, the men confessed to cutting numerous trees in the city to get a clear view of their commercial hoardings and banners. A police officer said that no one suspected the accused as they used to pretend to be BMC employees. Whenever questioned, the accused would claim to have the necessary written permissions from the civic body, and always maintained that they were following the orders of their superiors.

On Wednesday, a few residents noticed the men cutting the banyan tree near Girgaum Chowpatty and complained to the BMC officer concerned. A first information report (FIR) was registered at MRA Marg police station against the unidentified persons.

According to police, the two main accused have been identified as Hiralal Sevaklal Darshan, 36, and Mohammed Shafeeq, 25.

“We arrested Darshan, Shafeeq and their three accomplices. During the investigation, we found that a similar complaint was registered against the five at Malabar Hill police station,” said Kiran Mandhare, inspector, Girgaum police station.