The Yeshwantpur police arrested a gang of five on Monday for allegedly taking vehicles on rental basis and selling them after changing the registration number.
The racket was busted following a complaint filed by Girish, a city-based businessman to whom the accused tried to sell an SUV for ₹5 lakh with registration documents.
In his complaint, Girish said that he met Arif and Koustubh while travelling from Belgium to the city a few days ago. The duo introduced themselves as dealers of secondhand vehicles and offered to get him a vehicle in good condition at a cheap price. Girish accepted their offer and exchanged contact details.
On Sunday, Arif called Girish stating that he had an SUV from Belagavi for ₹5 lakh and came in the car to meet him. After a test drive, Girish agreed to buy the SUV and asked for the vehicle’s documents. The accused took ₹5,000 towards advance payment and handed him photocopies of the documents. They left after asking Girish to arrange for the rest of the amount.
Girish got the documents checked and found them to be fake, and filed a complaint.
Based on the complaint, a team led by Mohammed Mukarram tracked down Arif, 26, Koustubh, 32, Syed Arman, 23, Sulaiman Pasha, 23, and Tousif, 26. The police have recovered the SUV worth ₹32 lakh, and 13 two-wheelers from them. Inquiries revealed that the accused had gone to Goa and taken the SUV on rent. They took the SUV to Belagavi where they tampered with the vehicle number to prepare a set of fake documents.
Using similar modus operandi, they stole 13 bikes from in and around the city, and forged the registration numbers to sell them, the police said.
