Mumbai, Jul 22 (TOI): 300 kg tomatoes and crates worth Rs 2,000 were stolen from a vegetable market in Mumbai Dahisar area.

Shantilal Shrivastav, a resident of Shanti Nagar in Dahisar, said the crates had been brought from the APMC market in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday night.

"On Tuesday, I got 300 kg of tomatoes from the APMC market and covered the crates with sacks. I left them outside the shop to avoid rodents," Shrivastav told Maharashtra Times.

Next morning, Wednesday, when Shrivastav reached his shop he found the crates missing. He then filed a case of theft at the Dahisar police station.

"We have registered the case and investigations are underway," Senior Inspector Subhash Sawant said, adding that the absence of CCTVs in the market is making it difficult to track down the robbers.

Meanwhile, police have now started investigating coolies and other vegetable vendors who sleep near the market.

A kilo of tomatoes costs Rs 100 in markets in the city.