The Palarivattom police arrested three youths after they allegedly sold the same car to two separate individuals over a major online marketplace only to steal it back on both occasions cheating the victims to the tune of nearly ₹3 lakh.
The arrested were identified as Iqbal, 24, Muhammed Fahil, 26, and Shyam Mohan, 23; all residents of Malappuram.
Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, T.U. Kuriakose, Deputy Police Commissioner, Kochi City, said that the accused put up a used premium sedan for sale on OLX for much less than the market rate to lure potential victims. A resident of Nedumnagad in Thiruvananthapuram fell for it and the car was sold to him in Kozhikode on the night of February 8.
They had fitted the car with GPS to track its movements over mobile phone and also held back a duplicate key. The accused then followed the buyer on his way back to Thiruvananthapuram and lifted the car from the parking lot of a restaurant along the Palarivattom bypass.
The buyer who lodged a police petition shared his doubt that those who sold the car to him were probably behind the theft. The police tracked the accused to Bengaluru with the help of CCTV footage. “The city cyber police also played a key role in cracking the case,” said Y. Nizamudeen, Assistant Commissioner of Police.
The same modus operandi was followed to cheat a resident of Palluruthy in January. He had signed a lease agreement for three months but found the car missing from his porch shortly thereafter. No documents were signed or exchanged with the victim from Thiruvananthapuram though.
In both cases, the victims were cheated to the tune of ₹1.40 lakh each. Incidentally, the accused was yet to fully pay for the car they used for cheating for which a complaint was pending at Palakkad police station.
It was also found that two accused have another case at Valapattanam police station for cheating a person to the tune of ₹6 lakh by promising him a luxury car. Iqbal was also an accused in a POCSO case registered in Kozhikode.
A word of caution
“Buyers on online platforms should make sure that documents are in order and should not be lured by low prices. Victims of such cheating should come forward and report them with the police rather than shying away out of shame,” said Mr. Kuriakose
A team led by Palarivattom Inspector S. Sanal comprising Sub Inspectors Josy and Jayakumar, Assistant Sub Inspectors Soman and Anil, senior Civil Police Officer Ratheesh, and Civil Police Officers Mahin and Arun made the arrest.
