The Rabale MIDC police have arrested one person belonging to a three-member gang of mechanics who duped motorists on highways.
The police said the gang had targeted Rajesh Ghosh who was travelling from Thane to Kharghar with his family at around 10 a.m. on Sunday morning, telling him his car needed a mechanic. The gang charged Mr. Ghosh ₹10,000.
However, a police team patrolling the area stopped by to make enquires. Fearing that they might get caught, the trio fled from the place, but the police chased them and arrested one, identified as Naseem Lala Khan; his accomplices, Sufiyan and Harshal are on the run. All three are residents of Deonar in Govandi.
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Old con
According to the police, the gang had previously targeted motorists on the Thane-Belapur road. They would claim sparks were emitting from the vehicles.
Senior Police Inspector Chandrakant Katkar from Rabale MIDC police station said: “When the driver stepped out of the car, one of the accused would claim that he knew a mechanic who lived nearby. He would then contact his two friends and they would come on to the scene. The trio would then claim that some parts of the car was damaged and would have to be replaced immediately. They would scare the driver by saying that if left unattended, the problem could cause a fire. They would then act as if they were changing parts of the vehicle and charge the driver a huge sum of money.”
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Mr. Katkar said, “We have received two similar complaints in the past. The gang has cheated families of sums ranging between ₹20,000 and ₹30,000. Once they motorists reached home, they would show the vehicle to mechanics and find out that they were duped by the trio on the highway. Following the complaints, we regularly patrolled the area.”