Tomato prices in the whole country are continuing to skyrocket, to counter the increased prices many cities are experiencing bizarre incidents of tomato robberies. In such an incident from Jaipur’s Mohana mandi, unidentified miscreants stole 150kg of tomatoes from a local shop. The whole incident was captured on CCTV cameras where the criminals were seen moving six boxes of tomatoes swiftly.
The owner of the shop, Hameed, will not be filing an official complaint. President of the Mandi, Rahul Tanwar, has urged vendors to be vigilant and stay cautious while selling tomatoes. Prices of tomatoes have reached up to ₹200 kg in many parts of the country, making a huge hole in the pockets of the lower and middle-class population.
Similar incidents were reported in Bengaluru and Kanpur. Unidentified criminals targeted a vehicle that was moving 2,000 kg of tomatoes near Chikkajala in Bengaluru. The farmer was moving his produce to sell in the Kolar market when he was intercepted by three criminals in a car. They assaulted the farmer and the driver and demanded money from him. He was forced to send them money via an online transaction and to make things worse, they fled the scene in the vehicle laden with tomatoes, according to the police report.
Two men stole 25kg of tomatoes in Fatehpur to sell it in the market and make quick money. The police caught both accused, Kamta Prasad and Mohammed Islam. 8kg of ginger and 25kg of green chilies have also been recovered. Following such fiascos around the country, a vendor in Varanasi has hired bouncers to provide security for his tomatoes. Fearing tomato theft and loot, the shopkeeper took this decision to save his tomatoes from miscreants.
