Thane, Police in Maharashtra’s Thane district have busted a car rental racket, through which at least 1,375 investors were duped of ₹20 crore, with the arrest of two persons, an official said on Friday. The Mira-Bhayandar Vasai-Virar police have also recovered 246 vehicles belonging to investors in multiple states that were being used by the fraudsters, Commissioner Madhukar Pandey told reporters.
The scam unravelled after the MBVV police registered a case on April 20 and launched a probe, he said.
Pandey said the prime accused, Sandeep Suresh Kandalkar, alias Raju Rajiv Joshi, persuaded investors to purchase pickup tempos and four-wheelers and promised to pay monthly returns of ₹55,000 to ₹75,000 if they allowed them to use the vehicles for rental purposes.
The accused told the investors that the vehicles bought in their names would be deployed at airports and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust for commercial use, said Pandey.
“The agreements were executed on ₹100 stamp papers, and the payments were collected online. Initially, Kandalkar made the promised payments, but later defaulted, leading to the exposure of the scam,” said the IPS officer.
Kandalkar, a native of Pisai village near Dapoli in Ratnagiri district, was arrested on April 25, a day after his accomplice, Sachin Sunil Tetgure, also from Dapoli, was taken into custody, the official said. At least seven more persons are part of this racket, he said.
So far, 246 vehicles, valued at approximately ₹25 crore, have been recovered, said Pandey. Kandalkar and his associates have cheated 1,375 investors of about ₹20 crore after luring them with high returns through the scheme, he said.
Another official said that since the vehicles were deployed at specific locations like the airport and JNPT, it was easier for the police to recover so many of them in a short span.
“The main accused has a criminal history, with 13 cheating and misappropriation cases registered against him across Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, and Bharuch in Gujarat. Provisions related to organised crime have also been added in this case,” Pandey said.
Efforts are being made to apprehend the other accused, he added.
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