In the past 72 hours, three trucks loaded with onions which were destined for Bangladesh -through the Mahadipur land port in Malda district- were set on fire. Police have arrested three persons and initiated a probe to know the motive behind the arson. A section of police officers suspects that the onion sacks were torched because drivers were extorted, but refused to pay.
Altogether, onions worth around Rs 1 mln (€12,000) were destroyed. According to the exporters, the onions loaded on a truck were torched on Saturday. “We initially thought it was an accident and anticipated that any driver or helper of a truck had probably thrown a cigarette stub which caused the blaze. But when the same incident was repeated on Sunday and onions loaded on two trucks were seen burning, we smelled a conspiracy. Even CCTV footage revealed that two persons were deliberately setting the onions on fire. If such miscreants are not arrested, it can affect the border trade through Mahadipur,” said one exporter.
