Heritage furniture may have been smuggled out

CHANDIGARH: The investigation into the mysterious theft of heritage furniture from the Le Corbusier Centre in Sector 19 has taken a curious turn with the police suspecting that the furniture, worth several lakhs in the international market, may have been smuggled out during the day.

SSP Sukhchain Singh Gill comes out of the Le Corbusier Centre in Sector 19, Chandigarh, on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Parvesh Chauhan

Amit Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 7

The investigation into the mysterious theft of heritage furniture from the Le Corbusier Centre in Sector 19 has taken a curious turn with the police suspecting that the furniture, worth several lakhs in the international market, may have been smuggled out during the day.

The police will now scrutinise the footage of CCTV cameras installed at roundabouts. The complaint regarding the theft was made to the police on September 24.

The incident had led to suicide by a 37-year-old Home Guards volunteer, Mohan Joshi, who allegedly hanged himself from a tree in the forest area of Mani Majra. Joshi, who was also working as a security guard, was questioned regarding the theft since he was on night duty on the night of September 23.

Police sources said they would scrutinise the footage of CCTV cameras installed at various intersections. “The footage of several days before the complaint was made will be scrutinised,” the sources said.

UT SSP Sukhchain Singh Gill today visited the Le Corbusier Centre to investigate the theft of the furniture. The SSP, along with ASP (East) Guriqbal Singh Sidhu and SHO of the Sector 19 police station Maninder Singh, inspected the spot.

The police are suspecting the role of some insider in the theft. Heritage furniture — two tables and eight V-shaped cushion chairs — worth several lakhs in the international market, was stolen on the night of September 23. The thieves are believed to have sneaked into the storeroom through a windowpane and fled with the booty after breaking open a door on the rear side of the centre, which is not properly guarded. The SSP said preliminary investigation suggested that the entire furniture was stolen in one go.