Forty three solar panels installed in kitchen garden of Meghalaya have gone missing Saturday, a police official said.

The solar panels were meant to provide additional electricity to the sprawling Raj Bhavan here in this mountainous state.

“The solar plates must have been stolen in the wee hours of Saturday by a group of people from the garden,” Mariahom Kharkrang, the district police chief of East Khasi Hills, said.

He added: “The thieves surely came with a big vehicle to carry out the heavy solar panel worth Rs 6.19 lakh.” The solar plates worth Rs 6.19 lakh had been installed by Hyderabad Batteries Limited to generate 30 Kilowatt of power supply. 

Meghalaya Governor RS Mooshahary had said the solar panel will cater to 50 per cent of the Raj Bhavan requirements during peak season and about 80 per cent during the lean season.

Meanwhile, police have questioned a number of people around the Raj Bhavan area and a manhunt is on nab the thieves.