Driven by fraud: Car loan racket unravels, mastermind held with 21L assets

Rajkot: The Special Operations Group (SOG) has uncovered a sophisticated racket in which fraudulent loans were obtained on second-hand cars using forged ownership documents, often without the knowledge of buyers.A 29-year-old man, identified as Anand alias Amit Khakkhar, has been arrested for allegedly masterminding the operation. Police have seized assets worth around Rs 21 lakh, including five cars, in connection with the case.The scam came to light following a complaint by car trader Bakul Rathod at the DCB police station. Rathod, along with his associate Nayan Savaliya, had agreed to sell a car to Anand for Rs 2.35 lakh. The accused was handed over the vehicle along with the original registration certificate (RC), transfer documents and copies of the owner's PAN and Aadhaar cards.Police said Anand subsequently sold the same car to a third party for Rs 2.82 lakh without informing Rathod and allegedly forged the original owner's signature on the transfer papers.Investigators said the accused operated with a well-planned modus operandi. He would approach sellers of second-hand cars, obtain photographs of RC books and create convincing duplicate colour copies. He then allegedly collected the original RC books from vehicle owners and handed them fake duplicates. Using forged signatures on transfer forms, he would sell the vehicles to unsuspecting buyers and secure loans in their names, diverting the sanctioned amounts into his own account.Police inspector Sanjaysinh Jadeja said the SOG had received specific inputs about illegal trading of vehicles using forged documents, following which the accused was tracked down and arrested.Officials suspect the involvement of bank personnel, as loans sanctioned in the names of buyers were allegedly credited to the accused's account with their knowledge.So far, five cars have been seized, including two brought from outside Gujarat. None of the vehicles were found with valid documentation.Police are now working to identify the original owners of the seized vehicles, verify the role of bank officials and trace the source of the forged documents. Authorities are also coordinating with regional transport offices (RTOs) for further details.A case has been registered against the accused under Sections 318(4), 336(2), 338 and 340(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).