Burglars decamped with sandalwood logs from the warehouse of Department of Forest and Wildlife in Sagar on Thursday night after murdering the security guard there.

The guard was identified as Nagaraj, 47, a resident of Balegundi village nearby. He was a non-permanent worker.

On Friday morning, the Forest staff saw the lock of the front door of the warehouse broken. The electricity bulbs and surveillance cameras there were found to be damaged and a few sandalwood logs stored there were missing. Police visited the spot with a team of forensic experts and a sniffer dog squad.

Police initially suspected the involvement of Nagaraj in the crime as he was not found on the spot and his mobile phone was switched off. His body was later found near the bus shelter in Nedaravalli on the outskirts of Sagar town.

Police suspect that Nagaraj had tried to resist the burglars by raising an alarm, and they might have murdered him. While fleeing from the spot, they might have thrown his body near Nedaravalli. The Forest officials are yet to come to a conclusion on the number of sandalwood logs stolen.