Gang locks homes from outside, steals sandalwood tree

COIMBATORE: A gang locked up all the homes and smuggled a 20-year-old sandalwood tree at Angannan Santhu near Attappagounden Pudur Road in Irugur on Wednesday.
"At 2am these men reached the spot and first locked all the houses located on the street from outside. Then they cut down the tree and smuggled it," said a resident of the area.
"As one of the houses had an automatic lock system, the resident managed to come out and helped unlock the other houses in the morning," said Guru Sarathy, branch secretary of DYFI and a resident of the area.
The residents said that a few days ago panchayat officials carried out road work in their area. "We suspect the construction workers who worked here were involved in this crime," said Guru Sarathy.
The house where the tree was cut down belonged to Nagaraj, 37, who had rented it out to a couple.
Officials said that the tree must have weighed nearly 20-30kg and worth 2-3 lakh.
Residents said that last week another gang had burgled a house and took away jewellery and cash. "We are worried as this is the second theft in the past 10 days," said Sarathy.
Forest department officials were not able to take any step as the area does not fall in a reserved forest area. No complaints have been registered with the police yet.