At a time when the jaggery trade is picking up after a hiatus of two months due to various reasons, three traders from Lanka in Hojai district were robbed of in broad daylight at gun point while they were on their way to a weekly market in West Karbi Anglong to procure jaggery.
As per information, three traders from Lanka – Mithun Pal, Haripad Pal and Dipankar Pal – were riding a bike to Hawaipur Pas Ali Weekly Market in West Karbi Anglong to procure jaggery when they were intercepted at around 8 am by five men on two bikes at Maijiya Tini Ali under Kheroni Police Station in West Karbi Anglong.
Sources said, “The robbers pointed a pistol at them and snatched the bag of the traders containing the money and fled from the spot. The traders claimed that there was Rs 1.75 lakh in the bag. The police are investigating the case.”
The incident has created a fear-psychosis among the jaggery traders and local sugarcane farmers as the trade depends on procurement of the product by traders from outside the district.
Traders from areas near Hojai district and others use to come and take large consignments from the farmers to sell the same to other places of the State.
Kheroni in West Karbi Anglong is a hub of jaggery trade and the incident is likely to have a short-term impact on it. Two months back, sugarcane farmers and local traders of Kheroni stopped their activities due to low price.