₹1.2 crore almond truck theft reveals law enforcement weaknesses

A recent concerning case from Jaipur has come into light that has rekindled questions about the genuine effectiveness of India's Law process and logistics. A truck carrying almonds valued at ₹1.2 crore vanished in Jaipur on the evening of July 12. However, the stolen goods were eventually recovered by citizens after zero police action.

Around 9 pm on July 12, the truck's GPS was suddenly disconnected, and the FASTag ceased recording toll movement. This notified the logistics company's control tower that there may have been a theft. By 4 am on July 13, a ground crew had been sent and arrived at the truck's last known location. But the real fight was far from over.

As India aspires to become a global superpower, business leaders are calling for accountability and urgent action to modernize its law and order systems — before more such stories quietly vanish along with the trucks.

"We visited several Jaipur police stations, but not a single SHO was prepared to lodge a formal complaint. We spent the whole day begging for a simple action. Ultimately, we were only able to file a zero FIR because of contacts," the businessman said.

However, the logistics team took matters into their own hands in the interim. By July 15, they had tracked the truck all the way to Lucknow using CCTV footage from several toll plazas. They found the car after a lot of ground work and turned the offenders over to the Uttar Pradesh Police.

Sadly, the Rajasthan Police played no role in the recovery. The stolen goods and the accused are currently under the custody of UP Police.

The disheartened businessman said, " Now I will have to arrange a vehicle to take them to Jaipur only for the court to grant them bail in 15 days. I pay 15,00,000 per day in taxes in tolls and diesel. For this? How on earth will we save India's logistics cost with such lethargic departments?".

The businessman continued, "It sends a terrible message to the business community when police departments show such lethargy in a clear-cut theft of this scale."

The incident has spurred new discussion about how responsive law enforcement is to crimes involving logistics.

Incidents like these highlight structural inefficiencies in India's supply chain ecosystem, where logistics costs continue to hover around 13–14% of GDP, which is much higher than in China or Western economies.

Policymakers and the central leadership are now seeing this case as a wake-up call to start implementing police and judicial reforms, particularly in the areas of handling FIRs and interstate criminal coordination.