Lucknow reports its first 'green theft'

Lucknow, Feb 20 Lucknow has just reported its first 'green' theft of plants.

The Sushant Gold City police station has registered a complaint for the theft of as many as 150-200 plants, put up alongside the service lane and the median of Shaheed Path highway for the Global Investors Summit (GIS) and the G20 meetings.

Arpit Pratap Singh, the contractor who was assigned the task to beautify Shaheed Path from Lulu Mall to Rae Bareli Road, has lodged a case in this connection.

He said the work was being done by the LDA and he was assigned the contract to the Shaheed Path under G20 summit which was to be organised in the area.

"My firm got the contract for the planting and beautification of the road and I got the saplings planted on the road. Around 150-200 plants have been stolen from the site," he said.

Locals said some plant lovers stole plants while others said that the absence of police presence on the road led to theft of plants.

Shailendra Giri, SHO, Sushant Golf City, said: "The police have registered an FIR and are scanning the CCTV footage to identity the 'plant lovers'."

Earlier on February 8, an electricity shop owner had stolen flowerpots. The police reached him based on his car's registration number as his act was captured in a CCTV.

Shivam Mishra was arrested and he said that he was driving home to Arjunganj when he spotted flowers kept on a roadside.

He thought these flowers were lying unattended and he picked up 55 pots and quickly kept them in his car boot before fleeing.

The entire act was caught in the CCTV installed ahead of GIS and G20 related events in the city.