Man robbed of 35 kg human hair worth Rs 3L; says struggling to get FIR lodged

Bareilly: A hair trader here has alleged that he was robbed of 35 kg of human hair worth Rs 3 lakh but has been unable to get an FIR registered despite repeated visits to the police. Police, however, claimed that the trader, Umesh Kumar, had not filed any complaint and only insisted that his goods must be recovered."We had asked Umesh Kumar to file a complaint, but he refused. Still we took cognisance of the matter and started a probe," SSP Bareilly Anurag Arya told TOI.Umesh Kumar, a resident of Gelatanda village under Nawabganj police station, supplies hair for wig production. He told TOI that on Jan 21 he was lured by an unidentified caller offering Rs 8,800 per kg – above the market rate of around Rs 7,500 to Rs 8,000. "When I reached the location under Faridpur police station limits with a sack full of hair in my car, I was surrounded by eight men who thrashed me and robbed me at gunpoint," he said.Kumar claimed that he reported the incident to police the same day and approached the Bareilly SSP the next day, but "my complaint was not formally registered." He said that a week later on Jan 29, one of his fellow traders received a call from the same accused, seeking more hair. "When I found out about it, I prevented him from going and informed the police," he said.Based on Kumar's inputs in the second matter, three men – Suraj, 26, Farukh, 30, and Pradeep, 22 – was arrested and a case was registered against them under sections 312 (attempting to commit robbery or dacoity while armed with a deadly weapon) and 313 (punishment for belonging to a gang of robbers or thieves) of BNS, along with provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act and Arms Act.Kumar said that his stolen hair and money were never recovered. He said one accused had already sold the consignment. "If my complaint is not entertained, I will approach the chief minister and the DGP," he told TOI.The incident comes amid rising global demand for natural Indian hair used in wigs and extensions.In a separate case, Khurja Nagar Kotwali police in Bulandshahr arrested five men for stealing 4.72 kg of human hair worth around Rs 1 lakh earlier this month.