After a prolonged investigation into a car fraud case, the MIDC police have registered an FIR against two accused and recovered four vehicles worth approximately ₹24 lakh. The accused have been identified as Vijay Tumshad and Harsh Sharma. The police are currently conducting further investigations into the matter.
According to MIDC police, the absconding accused had taken a Maruti Suzuki Wagon R, two Toyota Innova cars, and a Toyota Innova Crysta. The victims in the case informed the police that the accused had promised them high returns if they rented out their vehicles. However, the complainants did not receive the promised payments, and the accused allegedly refused to return the cars.
The accused lured car owners into renting out their vehicles but fraudulently took possession of them without returning them. Following a complaint from one of the victims, the MIDC police registered a case and issued notices to the accused. However, they failed to respond and went absconding.
Subsequently, the police intensified their probe and began tracking the missing vehicles. During the investigation, they traced two vehicles—one Toyota Innova in Karnataka and a Toyota Innova Crysta in Uttar Pradesh. These vehicles had been handed over to third parties as collateral. The police contacted the individuals in possession of the vehicles, informed them about the fraud, and successfully recovered the cars.
Additionally, two more vehicles were found in a garage in Mumbai. Within a month of investigation, all four cars were successfully recovered.
The police suspect that one of the accused, Harsh Sharma, has defrauded several others in Mumbai using similar tactics. It is believed that he has tricked people into pledging around 40 to 50 vehicles, amounting to a total fraud of ₹50-60 lakh. The investigation is ongoing.