Multi-Crore Car Fraud Racket Busted And 30 Vehicles Worth Crores Found

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): In a breakthrough, Arera Hills Police on Monday uncovered a large-scale vehicle fraud racket and recovered 30 cars worth more than Rs 3.5 crore.

The vehicles, including several luxury cars, were traced from Shyampur in Sehore district and nearby rural areas.

Police arrested the main accused, Shailesh Joshi, a resident of Ayodhya Bypass, who allegedly obtained vehicles from owners and agents on rent before fraudulently selling or mortgaging them using forged documents and fake agreements.

The scam came to light after Gaurav Kushwaha, a resident of Vidisha, lodged a complaint stating that he had rented out his car to Joshi for Rs 25,000 per month.

According to the complaint, the accused stopped making payments and later sold the vehicle to a third party after taking an advance of Rs 75,000. The vehicle's GPS was also found to have been disabled.

An FIR has been registered under Section 316(2) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (criminal breach of trust). Police have recovered 30 vehicles so far, while efforts are underway to trace the remaining cars and identify other members of the network.

Arera Hills Police Station incharge Sunil Sharma said that preliminary interrogation revealed that nearly 35 vehicles were sold off through forged paperwork and fake agreements. Police suspect the involvement of additional accused.

Modus operandi

During the investigation, police discovered that Joshi had allegedly carried out similar frauds involving around 35 vehicles.

He would rent cars from agents and owners, prepare forged documents and agreements, and then either mortgage or sell the vehicles in remote rural areas at throwaway prices.

Police said many buyers failed to verify ownership documents properly, attracted by the opportunity to purchase expensive vehicles at unusually low rates.

Other police station cops showed negligence

Victims have alleged that they had approached several police stations in Bhopal regarding the missing vehicles, but their complaints were not taken seriously.

The major fraud was exposed only after Arera Hills Police registered an FIR and launched a detailed investigation.

Similar cases at other police stations

MP Nagar and Awadhpuri police are also investigating two similar vehicle fraud cases involving rented cars being illegally sold.

In MP Nagar, car dealers allegedly collected Rs 5 lakh from a buyer after showing and executing a fake sale agreement for a leased SUV, without the owner's knowledge.

In a similar case at Awadhpuri police station, accused Deepanshu Das allegedly rented a car belonging to Sadhna Gupta and sold it to another person. Police are probing both cases and searching for the accused.