Tomato-laden truck hijacked in Karnataka

Bengaluru: A gang of three allegedly hijacked and fled with a truck laden with tomatoes, whose prices have shot up to more than Rs 100 a kg, under the garb of a road rage at Chikkajala near here, according to the police. The police have registered a case following the incident and efforts are on to nab the culprits. Farmer Mallesh from Hiriyur in Chitradurga district was transporting a load of tomatoes to Kolar and the truck accidentally bumped into and broke the mirror of the car in which the accused were travelling.

Following this, the accused abused the farmer and his driver and demanded a huge amount of money as compensation. Both of them did not have the money and tried to negotiate with the accused, the police said.

The accused then allegedly took control of the truck forcefully and started driving it demanding money.

However, subsequently on realising that the farmer and driver did not have money, the accused pushed them out of the vehicle and sped away with the truck containing 2.5 tonnes of tomatoes worth around Rs 3 lakh.

The police are collecting CCTV footage to get clues about the robbers.

Many farmers have erected tents and deployed guards at tomato crop fields as miscreants are invading farms and committing thefts to make quick money.