After pretending to have an accident in Bengaluru near Chikkajala, a Tamil Nadu couple was detained for stealing a truck carrying 2.5 tonnes of tomatoes.
In Tamil Nadu’s Vaniyambadi, close to Ambur, they sold the tomatoes. The incident happened on July 8 and there were more than Rs 2.5 lakhs worth of tomatoes in the car.
According to the officials, the Vellore-born pair was a member of a group of highway thieves. They claimed that the truck had collided with their automobile and requested payment from Mallesh, a farmer from Hiriyur in the Chitradurga district of Karnataka, who was in the truck, as compensation.
According to a source, the farmer was bringing the tomatoes to Kolar when he refused to pay the money. As a result, the gang beat him up and drove the truck carrying the tomatoes away. Following the victim’s complaint, the RMC Yard police located the car and apprehended the group. The accused couple, Bhaskar who is aged 28 and his wife Sindhuja who is aged 26, were apprehended on Saturday. Rocky, Kumar, and Mahesh, the other three gang members, are still at large.
Under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 346A (kidnapping, abduction, or holding a person in detention) and 392 (robbery), a case was filed against the alleged offenders.
According to reports, the team of criminals observed the truck carrying tomatoes and followed it. They attacked the farmer and the driver of a Bolero goods vehicle after stopping the truck, claiming that their car had been injured. The criminals then requested money, which was ultimately paid to their mobile phone online. After the money transfer, they forced the farmer out of the goods vehicle and then drove the truck with tomatoes towards Tamil Nadu.
The police discovered a CCTV video that contained information about the accused couple. The couple who allegedly sold the tomatoes stopped the car close to Peenya and Bengaluru before fleeing to Tamil Nadu in a different car without a licence plate.
Tomatoes are now costing more than Rs 100 per kilogramme in stores all throughout the nation. Another tomato heist was recorded a few days ago in Halebeedu, Karnataka. A woman claimed that thieves stole 2.5 lakh rupees’ worth of tomatoes from her property.
