The Kurar police are searching for a petty criminal who is said to have duped many people across the city by getting away with their vehicles by giving bounced cheques to them. The accused identified as Tarkeshawar Gorakhnath Pandey (38) along with his other crime accomplice Naresh Shetty used to approach the car sellers who listed their vehicles on OLX (online marketing platform for buying and selling goods). After all the documents of the vehicle were handed over, the duo immediately listed the car on the said website and sold it to customers.
One of the victims, Rohit Rane, a Malad resident resorted to Twitter in order to seek help from Mumbai police to gets his car back. His car was taken by Pandey in October 2018. Rane said. "After I listed my car on OLX website for Rs 8.24 lakhs, Pandey approached me by the name Vishal. Since I had a car loan taken from a bank, Pandey demanded that he shall finalise the deal only when I clear the dues." He further added, "He gave me a cheque of Rs 4 lakhs which he deposited from one branch of a bank and promised to pay the final amount after I cleared the loan. I acted upon the condition and Pandey then gave another cheque from a different branch. Few days later, I received messages from the banks that the cheques deposited have been returned due to insufficient funds. I kept on following up with Pandey asking him to return the car. By the time, I realised that I was duped, he managed to get away."
The car was later sold on OLX and was registered in the name of a person in Bihar. Rane said that the Kurar police initially were reluctant in lodging FIR. After the complain was filed, the cops are not investigating the matter seriously. A police source said that Pandey has been named for vehicle theft offences at different police stations of the north region. Pandey used to take homes for six months where he executed his theft plans. He also has cases related to running fake production house, estate agency fraud and getting away with cars using the same modus operandi.
"We have registered a case under section 406, 420 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. We are tracing Pandey to arrest him at the earliest and are working on inputs received related to him. Once he is arrested, we can investigate further on the syndicate and total number of people he has duped so far," said a police officer from Kurar police station. OLX team have assured, Rane via Twitter that they will look into the matter and initiate action.