Bengaluru: Sometimes, the biggest harvest story isn’t about what comes off the vine, it’s about what disappears before anyone gets the chance to pick it.In what could easily pass for the plot of a rural heist thriller, thieves allegedly walked away with nearly 2.5 tons of Red Globe grapes just days before harvest, leaving farmer Basavaraj staring at empty vines and shattered expectations. The theft occured at the two-acre farm on Tuesday night at Kolavanahalli village, near Nandi Hills in Chikkaballapura district.According to Basavaraj, the thieves are believed to have parked a vehicle along the tank bund under the cover of darkness, harvested the fruit, loaded it, and vanished before sunrise. The estimated loss? Around Rs 3 lakh in stolen produce.“I invested nearly Rs 15 lakh in raising this crop,” Basavaraj said, listing everything from saplings and fertilizers to pesticides and labour. The harvest was expected to yield around 30 tons of premium Red Globe grapes. With market prices hovering near Rs 150 per kilogram, the crop had the potential to fetch nearly Rs 45 lakh. I was supposed to harvest it on Wednesday, but the crop was gone. They (thieves) have chopped off bunches.” Basavaraj suspected the three to four thieves to have used low intensity battery or mobile torches to identify and cut the bunches, he pointed out. A complaint has been lodged with Nandi Hills police.In fact, grape thefts have been reported in the past from the area, especially when the yield is good and prices are lucrative. According to horticulture dept official Raghavendra, Chikkaballapura cultivates grapes on nearly 1,900 hectares, supporting more than 2,000 farmers. While traditional varieties such as Bengaluru Blue and Dilkush dominate local vineyards, growers are increasingly experimenting with Red Globe grapes, lured by their premium prices and growing demand.Veteran grape grower Anjaneya Reddy from nearby Nayanahalli said: “Grapes and pomegranates have become easy targets because they can be harvested quickly,” he explained. “A ton of grapes can be cut and loaded in about an hour.“ Moreover, it is easy to dispose of in the market as daily supplies make it difficult to trace and identify the culprits.The police, however, maintained that they are checking CCTVs in the vicinity to identify the vehicle used for transporting the stolen grapes.
