In a significant breakthrough, Karkala rural police have arrested three individuals involved in a major sandalwood theft case and recovered stolen logs worth ₹4 lakh.
The theft took place on June 16 at the private plantation of Dinesh Shettigar in Nitte village, under the jurisdiction of Karkala rural police station. A total of nine sandalwood trees were illicitly felled and stolen that night, prompting the registration of a case.
A joint investigation, led by PSI Prasanna M S (law and order and traffic) and PSI Sundar (investigation wing), resulted in the arrest of three suspects—Ganesh (44) of Ayyappa Nagar near Nehru Durga High School, Kukkundoor; Santosh (35) from Marne village; and Moyudeen alias Moyidu Kunj (60) from Ira village in Bantwal taluk.
Police recovered the stolen sandalwood logs from the accused, who, during questioning, admitted to their involvement in similar thefts in the Shirva police station limits.
The operation was carried out under the direction of Udupi SP Hariram Shankar and ASP Dr. Harsha Priyamvada. Karkala Circle Inspector Manjappa D R supervised the field team.
The arrest and recovery were executed by a dedicated police team including PSIs Prasanna M S and Sundar, ASIs Prakash and Sundar Gowda, and constables Rudresh, Chandrashekhar, Sumitra, Mahantesh, Somashekara S G, Ravindra, Anand, and Shashikala.
Their coordinated effort successfully brought the culprits to justice and prevented further forest crimes in the region.