Shillong, July 23: In a daring act, a couple from Tamil Nadu’s Vellore district was arrested by the Karnataka Police for hijacking a truck loaded with 2.5 tonnes of tomatoes. The couple, along with three other suspects, faked an accident and extorted money from a farmer in Karnataka. The incident occurred at a time when tomato prices were soaring nationwide due to adverse weather conditions.
The arrested couple, Bhaskar (28) and Sindhuja (26), were part of a gang of highway robbers. On July 8, they intercepted a farmer named Mallesh from Hiriyur in Chitradurga district at Chikkajala, demanding compensation for a supposed collision between their car and Mallesh’s truck.
India Today reported that when Mallesh refused to pay, the gang assaulted and kidnapped him, taking away the tomato-laden truck. The robbers compelled Mallesh to transfer money online to them before abandoning him near Devanahalli.
Escaping to Chennai, the gang sold the tomatoes and abandoned the truck in Bengaluru’s Peenya area before fleeing in another vehicle without a registration plate.
Based on Mallesh’s complaint, the RMC Yard police in Bengaluru tracked the vehicle’s movement and identified the couple from CCTV footage. Subsequently, a police team was sent to apprehend them, and the accused were arrested near Vaniyambadi town in Vellore district.
However, three other suspects, Rocky, Kumar, and Mahesh, are still at large. The police have launched a manhunt to capture them.
A case has been registered against the accused under sections 364A (kidnapping or abduction) and 392 (punishment for robbery) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
