A Truck Carrying Onions Worth Rs 16 Lakh From Maharashtra To Kerala Has 'Gone Missing'
Onion prices continue to be on the higher side and it is likely to remain the same at least for some more time.
With the kitchen staple being so expensive there is also an increase in the number of onion thefts.
In one such suspected case, a trader from Kerala has approached the police alleging that his truck-load of onions along with the vehicle and its driver are missing.
According to the complaint filed by Mohammad Siyad, a vegetable wholesale dealer in Kochi, he had purchased 25 tonnes of onions from the Farmers Co-operative Society in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra.
As he normally does, a truck was sent from Kochi to transport the goods.
Usually, it can take up to3-4 for the trucks to reach back, but Siyad says it has been a week now and there is no trace of the vehicle or the onions.
Siyad said the truck had left Ahmednagar with the load on October 25 and has gone missing.
He said that the onions had cost him around Rs 16 lakhs and he had paid another Rs 4 lakhs in agent commissions to procure them.
Even after the usual date when the load did not reach, Siyad contacted the Farmers Co-operative Society in Ahmednagar who told him that the truck had left on schedule on Sunday.
He also claimed that as the truck was untraceable he tried to contact the driver on his phone.
"His phone is not switched off, and every time I have tried calling him, it went unanswered," Siyad said adding that there have been no reports of any truck accidents on the route.
Siyad said he suspects that the driver might have fled with the truckload of onion and could have already sold it.
He added that his reason to suspect the driver of foul play is because of his track record.
The driver was apparently once caught by the transport company for selling off the spare parts of his vehicle.
