The Chembur police has arrested a 32-year-old car dealer for allegedly duping several people on the pretext of selling used cars at affordable rates. So far, 19 people have lodged their complaints. However, many more have been coming forward and the total fraud amount is likely to cross Rs 1 crore, said the police.
Recently, the police arrested Wasim Qureshi, alias Mehboob, for cheating and criminal intimidation after a Chembur resident Sanjay Mali lodged a complaint against him. Mali booked a second hand car with Qureshi in January. According to his complaint, he approached Qureshi after going through his website on car deals. Qureshi also made lucrative offers on an online marketplace to lure more people. He showed Mali a car and accepted partial payment. However, no car was ever delivered to him, said the police.
Like Mali, many others have been duped by Qureshi and others. The accused would keep used cars for display at their property in Chembur and promised the lowest possible rates. However, after the payments were made, they stopped entertaining people.
Qureshi, who earlier used to stay in Chembur, later shifted to Kharghar in Navi Mumbai after duping people, said the police.
After receiving several complaints against Qureshi, police launched a manhunt. He was later held on Monday after two months of search, said the police. Five others have been named as an accused in the case, who are yet to be arrested by the police.
So far, the police has received 19 complaints of customers who had been duped to the tune of total Rs 30 lakh. However, after Qureshi's arrest, many more have been coming forward and the total fraud amount is likely to cross Rs 1 crore.