4 held for theft of heritage chairs

Tribune News Service

Four persons, including a wooden furniture dealer, have been arrested in connection with the theft of four heritage chairs from the General Hostel for Boys, Sector 15. The prime accused in the case, a Panchkula-based industrialist, is still at large. The police have traced the heritage theft link to Mumbai from where antique dealers used to come to Chandigarh to buy heritage furniture.

Four heritage chairs were stolen from the balcony of the hostel on the night of October 9. A case was registered at the Sector 11 police station on October 15. Two days later, the thieves dropped the chairs back on the hostel campus. 

Inspector Narinder Patial, SHO, Sector 11, said during investigation, one of the accused, Rajesh Kumar (26), an auto driver and resident of Dhanas village, was identified, who disclosed that on October 5, he saw four heritage chairs lying in the balcony of the hostel. 

Rajesh gave information about these chairs to Santosh Kumar (32), a resident of Dhanas, who is a junk picker. 

“Santosh revealed this to two persons, identified as Krishania and his brother Anil Kumar, residents of Sector 56, who stole the chairs,” the SHO said. 

The same day, Krishania and Anil called Rajesh and Santosh and they sold these chairs to them for Rs 40,000.

The police said Rajesh and Santosh then sold these chairs through Naresh Kumar to Pawan Kumar, an industrialist, for Rs 88,000. Pawan is Naresh’s uncle. 

The chairs were transported to Zirakpur. As police pressure started mounting, the accused decided to drop back the chairs on the hostel campus. “Rajesh, Santosh, Anil and Naresh have been arrested while the prime accused, Pawan, and one the thieves, Krishania, are still at large,” the SHO said. 

All accused were produced in the court, which remanded them in one-day police custody. Those arrested by the police are school dropouts.

Industrialist’s role

Pawan, a resident of Sector 9, Panchkula, owns a factory in the Industrial Area, Phase I, Panchkula, in which cattle feed is manufactured. The police said Pawan was dealing with Mumbai dealers and had been selling furniture to them for long.

Heritage furniture being smuggled to Mumbai

Antique dealers from Chor Bazaar, Mumbai, used to come to Chandigarh by air to purchase heritage furniture and return after making the payments. The furniture was then transported to Mumbai by road.

Theft that went unreported 

Rajesh, one of the accused, confessed to having bought two heritage chairs and a table stolen from some office in Sector 17 around a month ago. These heritage items were also sold to Pawan. The theft of these heritage items went unreported.