22 vehicle owners lodge complaints

Twenty-two vehicle owners filed complaints with Villupuram Superintendent of Police P. Pakalavan on Monday saying they had lost their vehicles to Thennar Ravi (50) of Tiruvannamali, working in the Transport Corporation there.

The owners said they were in a quandary because they could neither contact Ravi nor trace the whereabouts of the vehicles given to him on lease. The issue has been complicated with Ravi committing suicide a couple of days ago.

Mr. Pakalavan told

The Hindu that Ravi had offered to take the cars on lease at Rs.10,000 to Rs.20,000 a month for one to two years, executing agreements on bond paper. He sub-leased the vehicles to travel agencies.

When he failed to make payments to the owners for more than two months, some of them tried to contact Ravi on his mobile phone but in vain, he said.

Some of them went to Ravi's office to ask him to return their vehicles. Ravi asked for time to return their vehicles, but reportedly ended his life, Mr. Pakalavan said.