Jaipur: A video of people snatching flour packets from a moving mini-truck has gone viral on social media.
The incident, confirmed to be true, took place in the Kunhadi police station area in Rajasthan’s Kota.
Like the rest of India, Rajasthan is on lockdown. In the absence of concrete measures to ensure the smooth functioning of food supply chains, especially in rural areas, hunger has been a common problem.
Speaking to The Wire, owner of the mini-truck Jitendra Bhatia said,
Video: sahi hai, logon ne atta liya. Main maanta hoon ki kuch ghalat bhi nahin kiya, jahaan bhukmari hai, vahaan log majboor hain na? Government ko dekhna chahiye ki bandi ki vajah se kahin aata vaghaira ki kamee nahin honi chahiye.”
Translated, Bhatia’s words mean, The video is not fake, people took away the flour bags. I believe that they have done no wrong because there is widespread hunger and people are helpless. The government should ensure that there is no scarcity of essential food items such as flour.
In the video, men, women and children are seen riding in motorcycles and running behind the mini-truck. As soon as it halts, a mad scramble ensues for the packets of flour.
In spite of the mini-truck owner’s sensitive understanding of the matter, the Kota superintendent of police Gaurav Yadav told The Wire that 10 persons “have been rounded up in this connection.”
“We will soon arrest them under charges of loot and robbery,” he said.