CHENNAI: The St Thomas Mount police arrested a 35-year-old man for allegedly cheating a used-car dealer of Rs 9 lakh after taking possession of a BMW car by paying only Rs 1 lakh as advance. The BMW was later recovered from Arani and two mobile phones were seized from the accused.

The arrested man was identified as Karthikeyan of Adambakkam, Chennai. Police said the complainant, Haja Najimudeen, 42, of Haji Street, Alandur, is involved in buying and selling used cars. Karthikeyan had been his customer for the past three years.

According to the complaint, Najimudeen agreed to sell his BMW to Karthikeyan for Rs 10 lakh. After receiving an advance of Rs 1 lakh, he handed over the car to Karthikeyan near the Kathipara flyover in Guindy on June 26, 2026. Karthikeyan allegedly promised to pay the remaining Rs 9 lakh later.

However, despite repeated demands, Karthikeyan allegedly failed to pay the balance. Najimudeen then tracked the location of the car using a mobile application and went to Arani, where he allegedly found that Karthikeyan had pledged the BMW with a man named Vignesh for Rs 5 lakh.

Based on Najimudeen's complaint, the crime wing of St Thomas Mount police registered a case under cheating and other relevant sections and launched an investigation.

A police team led by the crime wing inspector conducted an inquiry and arrested Karthikeyan after confirming the allegations. The car was recovered from Arani and two mobile phones allegedly used in the offence were seized.

Police said Karthikeyan already had four cheating cases against him. He was produced before a court on Thursday and remanded in judicial custody.