Chandigarh: Two men dressed as municipal maintenance workers stole four heritage manhole covers to sell them as common scrap, unaware the cast-iron pieces fetch up to ₹17 lakh each at international auctions.The men with a stolen scooter and high-visibility crew jackets for cover were were caught trying to smash 80-kg civic artefacts with a pickaxe.Police from Sector 34 detained Raja Ram, 24, of Mohali, and Mukesh, 32, of Chandigarh, and recovered the covers along with a stolen Honda Activa scooter. Both men are originally from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh and had arrived in the tricity recently to stay with relatives.Investigators said the pair, facing financial difficulties and alcohol addiction, had stolen the scooter before targeting manhole covers in sectors 45 and 46 over several days. By wearing jackets resembling municipal uniform, they operated openly during the day while passersby assumed they were performing routine sewer maintenance.The thefts were uncovered after Sector 46 councillor Gurpreet Singh Gabi reported more than seven covers missing. Officers reviewed security camera footage and eventually caught the suspects in a Sector 46 forest as they struggled to break the heavy covers with a pickaxe.Police said the suspects appeared unaware of the items’ historical and artistic significance. The covers, which feature an embossed map of the planned city, have previously sold at auctions in London and Paris for between ₹11 lakh and ₹17 lakh.Authorities have not ruled out the involvement of an organised trafficking network, noting that more than eight heritage covers have disappeared from the area.
