Two held for defrauding 1,375 people in car-rental scam
MUMBAI: Two men have been arrested for cheating 1,375 people of ₹20.60 crore by promising them an income of ₹55,000 to ₹75,000 per month if they became part of a car-rental business. The arrests were made by the Kashimira police in Mira Road on April 29, in Mira Road and Dapoli in Ratnagiri.
Police have seized 246 cars valued at around ₹25 crore from the accused, identified as Sandeep Kandalkar aka Raju Rajiv Joshi and Sachin Tetagure, both residents of Dapoli in Rantagiri district.
Kandalkar, who has been booked in 13 fraud cases, would tempt people to invest in the supposed rental car business, by telling them this was a pick-up and drop service from the airport and ports such as the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority. The individuals were told they would earn ₹55,000 to ₹75,000 per month if they either invested in the business or rented their own cars for the pick-up and drop service. The accused also used the money they collected to buy expensive cars and SUVs.
'The accused thus collected a total of ₹20.60 crore from 1,375 people,' said a police officer. To gain the confidence of their victims, the scamsters initially deposited the promised sums into their bank accounts but soon started to default on the payments.
The police officer said 246 vehicles have been seized from Mumbai and surrounding areas based on information provided by the two arrested accused. The seized vehicles include cars such as the Innova Crysta, Maruti Brezza, Bolero Pickup, Kia Creta, Maruti Ertiga and Mahindra Thar.
Police have also identified some associates of the arrested accused. They are Divyata Mhatre (26) and Rohan Mhatre (35), both residents of Mira Road; Pravin Telang (44), a Bhayander resident; Vaishali Dhuri (47) from Charkop in Mumbai; Nilesh Shinde (38), a resident of Mantuga East; and Babu Maruti Awad (49), a resident of Navi Mumbai.
Police said the accused have been charged with cheating and breach of trust under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and additionally for being members of an organised crime syndicate, as the investigation revealed that financial fraud had been committed over a long period of time, said Madhukar Pandey, commissioner of police, Mira Bhayander-Vasai Virar police.
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