In a significant setback for India's e-commerce industry, a ₹1.21 crore theft occurred in Ludhiana, Punjab, as a Flipkart logistics truck transporting 221 Apple iPhones and other expensive electronic items was robbed. The vehicle, run by a Gurgaon-based logistics partner, was on its way from Haryana to Flipkart's Khanna warehouse in Ludhiana with more than 11,000 parcels.
According to police reports, Nasir of Bharatpur in Rajasthan, a truck driver hired just 10 days ago by a logistics firm, along with his assistant Chet, reportedly abandoned the truck inside the warehouse premises in Khanna and fled. The FIR has been registered on the statement of Pritam Sharma of Mahendergarh in Haryana, who is into field operation of a Gurugram-based logistic firm. Sharma, in his complaint, stated that the firm hired Nasir 10 days ago.
On September 27, Nasir and Chet filled 11,677 packages in the truck from Bhiwandi of Mumbai to be delivered in a warehouse in Khanna.
Ludhiana Police have registered cases of criminal conspiracy and theft against the duo, and searches are being conducted in Haryana and Rajasthan to arrest them. The logistics firm is also cooperating with the police, providing GPS coordinates and internal audits. Flipkart is, in the meantime, investigating procedural lapses and tightening control over logistics partners.
This robbery highlights the growing perils of insider fraud during the boom in India's e-commerce era, which handles over 12 million packages daily.