2 people arrested by Mumbai police for stealing onions worth more than Rs 20,000

Mumbai Police have arrested two people for stealing onions worth Rs 21,160 in the first week of December. The robbery took place in the Dongri Market area. 

Rising onion prices leading to robberies

READ: Kolkata: Govt Begins Selling Onions At Subsidised Rate Of Rs 59 At Ration Shops

In a statement, the police said that they have registered a case under Section 379 of the Indian Penal Code against the individuals. A total of 168 kilograms onions valued around Rs 21,160 (according to the FIR) were stolen"

On Monday evening, the government's principal spokesperson, KS Dhatwalia, tweeted and said that the government had reduced the stock holding permits of onions for retailers. The tweet said that the central government had decided to decreased the stock holding permits of onions for retailers, and has brought down the permit from 5 MT to 2 MT. In order to arrest the increasing price of onions, Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan had last week announced a number of steps that the government had taken in order to soften the price of onions. He later announced that the government has decided to import 11,000 Metric Ton (MT) of onion from Turkey and 6,090 MT from Egypt. These onions will be available in the market between December 15 and January 15. 

READ: BJP Leader Lanka Dinakar Slams Andhra Pradesh Govt For Increase In Onion Prices In State

The government has said that the increasing prices is because of a one month delay in monsoon, which leads to another delay in sowing. This further delays the process of production and distribution in the market. Moreover, extremely heavy rainfall in certain regions such as Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan is said to have resulted in a 26% reduction in onion production. 

(with inputs from ANI)

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