According to the villagers, at 6.30 am on Friday, they woke up to see the sole mango tree in their area chopped off. The villagers have alleged the involvement of the logging mafia, which, they claim, has been illegally felling trees in the Ridge.

Some of the villagers said they found out that the felled tree was taken to the neighbouring village of Mandi. The villagers said they have even identified the tree as well as the suspects.

The villagers said they reached the police station around 7.30 am and waited the whole day to lodge a complaint.

“Logging by organised mafia is regular in the area,” said RWA president Om Narayan.

“Before this, trees in the Ridge like Shisham were cut. All the activity happens at night...after 9 pm. We went to the police as this tree had religious value and was planted by us in 1939,” Om said.

The tree was planted a private field, now taken over by the DDA. That didn’t, however, deter the villagers—as well as people from neighbouring villages—from using the leaves of the tree for poojas while it stood.

“The tree stood on my great grandfather’s grave...it was planted by him. This is just stealing of our resources.. we followed the tyre tracks on the ground. Posing as buyers, we were able to point out the suspects in the neighbouring village of Mandi. We have also recognised the tree,” says 37-year-old Satish Kumar, who has seen the tree for as long as he has lived.

The police are carrying out investigations. “We will file an FIR soon,” said an officer.