Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Lured by promises of attractive monthly returns and assured that the loan instalments on his SUV would be paid on time, Kolar Road resident Yogdhar Pandey handed over his vehicle to an acquaintance, Gyanendra Singh, in good faith.
Months later, he discovered that the SUV had allegedly been sold to another person, Sabahat Ali, without his knowledge. Despite approaching the police, Pandey is still waiting to recover his vehicle.
His is not an isolated case. Police investigations suggest that fraudsters, often acquaintances or trusted contacts, are exploiting personal relationships to obtain vehicles on lease or rent before allegedly selling or mortgaging them using forged documents.
More than a dozen such cases have been registered in Bhopal since January, exposing organised rackets targeting owners of new and premium vehicles.
The vehicles are allegedly sold or mortgaged using forged documents, leaving both owners and buyers cheated.
MP Nagar resident Raghav Upadhyay said he paid Rs 5 lakh to second-hand car dealer Farhan Anees for an SUV.
The fraud surfaced after the SUV's original owner informed Upadhyay that the vehicle had only been leased out and was not for sale.
A similar case was reported in Awadhpuri, where a vehicle owned by Sadhna Gupta was allegedly rented by dealer Deepanshu Das and later sold without her knowledge.
Major busts
Arera Hills police recently busted a gang and recovered 38 vehicles. In charge of Arera Hills police station Sunil Sharma said the gang obtained vehicles on lease or rent from owners before allegedly selling or mortgaging them using forged documents.
Earlier, Ayodhya Nagar police busted another gang. The accused allegedly lured owners by promising to attach their vehicles with government departments for attractive returns before illegally selling them.
How racket operates
Police said the gangs mainly target owners of new and premium vehicles by offering monthly rentals of Rs 25,000 to Rs 45,000 and promising to pay loan instalments on financed vehicles.
To gain credibility, they use pamphlets, social media campaigns and professionally run offices, often without proper registration.
The vehicles are then allegedly sold at throwaway prices or mortgaged in rural areas using forged documents, citing urgent financial needs.
