Mumbai: One held for theft of 50 kg garlic worth Rs 60,000

The complainant, Dinesh Rastogi, at the Vasai Gaon police station

In adversity, they say, lies opportunity. While the rest of the country has been frothing at the mouth over the skyrocketing prices of garlic, two thieves made away with 50 kilograms of the precious herb earlier this week. The police have arrested one of them and are on the lookout for the other.

Due to a delay in harvesting several rabi crops, the supply of garlic has been curtailed over the last few months and prices have been going as high as Rs 500 per kilogram. Garlic is harvested both as a rabi crop and a kharif crop. Just a day ago, the Madhya Pradesh police arrested a gang of 11 accused, who allegedly robbed a pick up truck carrying four quintals of garlic, worth Rs 16 lakh.

According to the Vasai Gaon police, the theft came to light early on Thursday morning, when Dinesh Rastogi, a vegetable vendor, reached his shop in the Holy Bazaar market in Vasai West and found that it had been broken into. Two handcarts laden with 50 kg of garlic were missing from the shop.

"I checked footage of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras installed near the shop and saw three men pull up in an autorickshaw and steal my goods. I took a screen-grab of the footage which had captured the face of one of the three men, and made inquiries at the local rickshaw stand, which helped me identify him as Raju, also called Chorva, due to his thieving habits," Rastogi told mid-day.

Armed with the information, Rastogi approached the police, who registered an FIR and trained the suspect, whose full name is Raju Benbanshi, using details registered with the Regional Transport Office (RTO) against the number plate of his rickshaw.

"Raju would often roam around in the market. I suspect he would reconnoitre targets and come back with the other at night. There have also been other thefts here in the past. Each of my handcarts costs Rs 20,000, over and above the prices of garlic, which are rising due to decreased supply from Madhya Pradesh," Rastogi said.

Senior Police Inspector Ranjeet Andhale, Vasai Gaon police station confirmed the arrest and added that efforts were underway to nab the other two accused. Another officer said that Benbanshi and his accomplices sold the garlic at dirt-cheap prices to eateries to capitalise on the current situation.