2 held for posing as army men to cheat vehicle buyers online

A cybercrime special team led by an Assistant Commissioner managed to secure the accused, identified as M Naresh Pal Singh (36) and L Bachchu Singh (26) of Bharatpur, from their hometown despite receiving no help from their counterparts in Rajasthan.

The police said that the duo is part of a gang that has cheated many people from across the country to the tune of several crores in a similar manner.

Explaining their modus operandi, an official said that the duo would post photos of two-wheelers, cars and trucks on the popular e-commerce platform, OLX, claiming that they were army personnel and want to sell off the vehicles as they have been transferred to another town.

Those who approached them were enticed by the cheap price tags that the vehicles carried. Thereafter, the gang would share the fake documents of the vehicle as if they bought the vehicles through army canteens. “They would demand from Rs 5,000 to 50,000 depending on the vehicles as advance and transport charges, which they receive through e-payment. After receiving the sum, they would keep giving excuses for the delay and eventually snap the contacts with the victims,” said the official.

After the CCB received several similar complaints, a special team was formed, and investigation revealed that the gang operates from Rajasthan. “The team went to Rajasthan and nabbed the duo after a lot of struggle, as the local police were not helpful. We were not even allowed in their village initially,” said police. They were produced before ACJM-2 Court at Bharatpur and would be brought to Chennai on Sunday.

Police suspect that a larger network is at work in Rajasthan and further investigation is on.