Hyderabad Police has arrested one person for stealing a rare 15-year-old Casuarina Bonsai tree in the posh Jubilee Hills area.
The rare plant was stolen from the house of former Director-General of Police V Appa Rao on Monday. The plant was found missing when the gardener went to water it.
While the two CCTV cameras installed at V Appa Rao's house were not functioning, the public cameras installed at the lane helped the police nab the accused.
Police found two bike-borne men stealing the Bonsai tree which was grafted in a pot near the house’s south-east gate. The accused have been identified as Gollapudi Prasannanjaneyulu and Abhishek. While Prasannanjaneyulu has been arrested, Abhishek is still absconding.
According to police, Prasannanjaneyulu is a construction worker. While roaming in the Jubilee Hills area, he observed the Bonsai tree several times in front of the retired officer's house. He then decided to steal the of that Bonsai tree and on Monday, along with Abhishek, stole it with a view to selling it to interested customers, police said.
Sridevi, wife of V Appa Rao, later reached to the Jubillee Hills Police and filed a complaint.
Police solved the case four days after the complaint was lodged and on Friday, while they recovered the plant in healthy condition, two accused were arrested under section 379 (Punishment for theft) of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The approx value of the plant is Rs 1.5 lakh.