Pune: A tree inspector with the civic body and three others were booked for allegedly cutting down an old tree from the premises of the PL Deshpande Garden on Sinhagad Road without permission and stealing the wood around 8pm on Monday.The truck carrying the tree was intercepted near Swargate by Maharshinagar resident Tanmay Babar (28) and other activists. They demanded documents authorising the tree cutting, but the truck driver and workers allegedly failed to produce any.Babar later lodged a complaint with the Parvati police, naming the tree inspector and three others allegedly involved in the incident.Senior inspector Rajendra Sahane of the Parvati police told TOI, “We registered a case of theft against the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) tree inspector and three others on Tuesday night after none of the civic officials approached us with a complaint despite being informed about the incident.”According to the complaint, Babar and his friends had gone to Khadakwasla for sightseeing and were returning home when they noticed a truck inside the garden.“Babar and his friends drove ahead and soon spotted another truck carrying tree branches and sections of the trunk. They followed the vehicle and intercepted it in Swargate. They also alerted residents. The activists and residents demanded documents related to the tree cutting from the truck driver and workers. The workers claimed they had removed the tree from a housing society. However, the activists visited the society and found that no tree had been cut there. They then returned to the garden and found that the tree had been felled, with another truck loaded with the wood parked nearby,” Sahane said.“The activists alleged that the tree inspector and the three others cut down the tree without permission and stole its branches and trunk. We are investigating where they were transporting the wood from the old tree,” he added.A senior official from the PMC’s garden department said, “We have initiated an internal inquiry into the matter. Appropriate action against those involved in the illegal tree cutting will be taken after the inquiry is completed.”
