Onion Stock Worth Rs 8 Lakh Stolen In Bihar As It Gets More Expensive Than Petrol

Onion prices have been on the rise across the country for some time now. With onion becoming a priced commodity, growers and traders are fearing about of theft, after an incident was reported from Bihar.

Dheeraj Kumar, the owner of an onion godown in Patna has alleged that he found the godown broken in on Monday and 328 bags of onion along with cash missing.

¡°At around 6 in the morning I came to know that the door of my godown was broken, approximately Rs 8 lakh worth of onions kept in 328 bags, cash of Rs 1 lakh 73 thousand and a television set kept in the godown were stolen,¡± Kumar told reporters.

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He, however, added that he had insured the goods in his godown and therefore was hopeful of getting some relief.

¡°The godown was built in a desolate spot where usually people do not visit after eight at night, the theft could have happened anytime in the night. My goods were insured, I will lodge an FIR and then try to get the amount from the company,¡± Kumar said.

Vinod Thakur, the police inspector agreed that a theft had taken place and prima facie it seemed that it was onion and bags which were stolen from the godown.

¡°The shutters were up and the doors of the room were open, the lock of almirah too was broken. We have begun the investigation and try to nab the culprits,¡± Thakur said.

Onion prices have been soaring across the country since last week. On Monday, it had gone up to Rs 80/kg at some places. A shortage in supply is being blamed for the sudden spike in the prices.

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According to reports, there is supply from Andhra and Madhya Pradesh, which has caused the current crisis.

The prices are likely to remain the same or even increase further before some respite. That could take up to next month when most of the farmers will harvest their produce.

With the prices still on the higher side, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said his government would bring down the price of onion to Rs 24 per kg in the next 10 days through augmented supplies.

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"We are about to take a step regarding the shooting onion prices here. We are procuring onions and we'll try to supply them to the maximum areas across the city via mobile vans. Tenders have been floated for the transportation of onions. I believe we will start supplying at the soonest," Kejriwal said.