New Delhi, Sep 25 The Delhi Police have busted an inter-state syndicate that was involved in a sophisticated car fraud operation, an official said on Monday.
This group would initiate the process by reserving high-end cars advertised as 'for sale' on online platforms such as Olx.com, offering the vehicle owner a booking amount of Rs 10,000.
Subsequently, they would obtain all the car's documentation for purported verification.
Once in possession of the car's legitimate documents, the syndicate would then acquire a stolen car of the same make from two thieves.
These stolen vehicles were later sold to a firm engaged in the business of second-hand cars after altering the chassis number and creating counterfeit documents matching the details of the initially reserved car on Olx.com.
The entire syndicate was unearthed after the arrest of three members and six high-end vehicles including Toyota Fortuner, Mahindra Thar among others, said a police officer.
The arrested individuals were identified as Rupinder Singh (25) -- a resident of Uttam Nagar in west Delhi, Manish a.k.a. Harshit (22), and Aman Garg (27) -- both residents of Haryana.
Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Singh Yadav, said that specific input was received that a gang is involved in selling stolen high-end vehicles in open market after tampering chassis numbers and preparing forged documents.
Acting on the input, a police team was constituted and Manish was successfully traced in Sector-104, Gurugram, and a Maruti Swift car bearing fake registration number was recovered.
During the questioning, Manish disclosed that he along with his associate Aman were indulged in selling stolen high-end vehicles to a firm that sells second hand cars after tampering chassis numbers and preparing forged documents.
"He further disclosed that they used to purchase stolen cars from one Rupinder employee of Supreme Carzz Showroom in Dwarka area. They upgraded the model of the car by preparing fake registration certificates and other documents," said the Special CP.
Aman was arrested from Mullana, Ambala in Haryana and two stolen Toyota Fortuners with tampered chassis numbers were seized from the car-selling firm at his instance.
"Thereafter, Rupinder was also traced and apprehended from Supreme Carzz showroom in Sector-17, Dwarka," said the Special CP.
On questioning, Rupinder disclosed that Amit Gahlawat, a resident of Najafgarh is the owner of the showroom and mastermind of the inter-state syndicate.
"He used to sell high-end vehicles in the open market with fake documents after tampering chassis numbers. He further disclosed that Amit takes stolen luxurious vehicles through his cousin, Surender. Raids were conducted at the hideouts of Amit and Surender, but they are still absconding," said the special CP.
"Later, one stolen Toyota Fortuner and a Mahindra Thar sold by Amit Gahlawat to a businessman of Industrial Area, Ghaziabad were recovered from Ghaziabad and Meerut," the official added.
Meanwhile, thespokesperson of the second-hand car selling firm, said: "In the Delhi-NCR region, a cartel engaged in fraudulent activities, which included selling stolen cars through documentforgery and their targets were used car dealers and platforms. Fortunately, our internal audits promptly identified the forgeddocuments, leading to immediate action. We contacted local lawenforcement, providing crucial information to dismantle the cartel and put a stop to their illegal activities.
"The company actively combats malpractices within the used carindustry to safeguard the interests of each customer. Instances ofillegal practices, such as this one, underscore our dedication toresolving any issues and building and maintaining trust amongits customers and used car ownership," the spokesperson added.
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