Tomatoes worth ₹1.5 lakh stolen in Karnataka’s Hassan district
A farmer in India's Hassan district lost ?1.5 lakh worth of tomatoes in a theft. The incident occurred as tomato prices are soaring across the country.
A case has been registered under section 379 ( theft) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and an investigation is underway.
A farmer from the Goni Somanahalli village in Halebeedu taluk of the state’s Hassan district lost ₹1.5 lakh worth tomatoes in a theft, officials familiar with the matter said.
The farmer, Somasekhar, has been growing tomatoes on his farm for the last three years.
On Tuesday night, thieves entered his farm and stole 50 kg of tomatoes from a total of 60 bags. This resulted in a total loss of ₹1.5 lakh. The incident came to light when Dharani, Somasekhar’s son, arrived at the farm on Wednesday morning.
“We have only two acres of agricultural land and could not harvest any crop due to heavy rainfall, climatic conditions and disease, since the last three years,’’ Parvathamma, wife of Somashekar, said.
“This time, we managed to grow tomatoes on two acres of land, but now half of the yield has been stolen. Additionally, the tomato plants were damaged, leaving no further yield for us to salvage,” she added.
“We went to the place of the incident soon after receiving the complaint. We have collected some information about theft from villagers. We will arrest the accused soon,’’ Halebeedu police inspector, Shivana Gowda Patil, told HT.
A case has been registered under section 379 ( theft) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and an investigation is underway, he added.
The theft of tomatoes comes at a time when tomato prices are soaring across India. In some parts of the country, tomatoes are selling for as much as ₹100-120 per kilogram. This is due to a number of factors, including a decline in production due to unseasonal rains and a rise in demand.