Forest officials, district police claim breakthrough with two more arrests

District forest officials and Sankheda police claim to have cracked the sandalwood thefts case with the arrest of two more persons from Nadiad taluka of Kheda district. Probe into the case has exposed a well-knit nexus of sandalwood mafia and dealers.

Sankheda police inspector M Gujjar told Newsline that sandalwood stolen from Sankheda, Nadiad, Vadodara and other areas in central Gujarat was taken to three villages in Nadiad. “We have arrested sandalwood dealers Bharat Patel (35) and Sathi Miya Chawda (54) from near Mangroli village after questioning the nine accused who were arrested in the sandalwood theft case in Sankheda earlier,” said Gujjar.

Divisional Forest Officer, Yogendra Verma probing the case said the stolen sandalwood is used for making beads, soaps and incenses, which are sold near Swaminarayan Temple in Nadiad. “The two arrested from Kheda were supplying sandalwood to various beads, soap and incense makers in the area, who in turn sell it to shopkeepers catering to the needs of devotees,” said Verma.

The three villages in Nadiad taluka where sandalwood trade takes place in a major way are Mangroli, Najigadh and Rakkuma, police said. Patel and Chawda have their own sandalwood plantations in the villages. Since felling of sandalwood requires permission from the forest officials, they occasionally cut the trees with the permission showing that they were engaged in a fair practice, they added.

“Stolen sandalwood from places such as Bodeli, Sankheda, Vadodara and others would be stored at Patel and Chawda’s houses,” said Gujjar. Last week, 20 kg of sandalwood was seized from the store of Patel and Chawda in Mangroli village.

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