Mysuru police uncover used car fraud by trio

Mysuru: Mysuru district police have uncovered a unique used-car fraud in which a fruit-seller, a car mechanic and a car dealer teamed up to cheat gullible buyers by selling vehicles without proper documents.Bannur police have cracked eight cases and continued to investigate their network, Mallikarjun Baladandi, SP, Mysuru, told reporters on Thursday. The trio, Ruman Sheriff, the fruit-seller, Mujahid Pasha, the car dealer, and Shahabuddin, the car mechanic, have been accused of purchasing second-hand cars, concealing ownership details, and reselling them to gullible customers at attractive prices.According to the SP, the accused targeted buyers looking for cheaper vehicles and took advantage of their trust by failing to provide valid registration papers and other mandatory records. In several cases, the vehicles were reportedly passed off as genuine and legally transferable, even though the documentation was incomplete, missing or suspected to be manipulated.After a buyer, Abhishek, approached Bannur police, accusing the trio of cheating him of Rs 5.5 lakh after delivering two used cars without giving valid registration papers, even months after they promised to provide them, police took up the investigation and stumbled upon a unique modus operandi to make a quick buck by the trio by cheating gullible buyers.During the investigation, police seized eight cars linked to the racket. The recovered vehicles include those registered in Haryana and Delhi, along with cars brought from different parts of Karnataka, the IPS officer stated.The SP said the owners of these eight cars, including two registered outside Karnataka, are yet to be traced. So far, no vehicle owners have approached police regarding their vehicles. The accused have told police that they purchased the cars from genuine owners in Bengaluru and then sold them to buyers in Mysuru through a local garage owner, for higher prices, but it has to be verified, he explained.To a query, the SP said the cops are verifying their antecedents and network to know if they had cheated any other buyer. Additional SP L Nagesh said one car sold by the gang was used by the gang to commit theft in Bengaluru. An investigation is being carried out to determine if they were aware of it. Bengaluru police sought vehicle details from the Mysuru police.