Tiruvallur duo take 50 car owners for a ride under ruse of giving them 'side incomes'

CHENNAI: It was the promise of a monthly "side income" that lured the car owners into 'renting' out their cars. Little did they realize that they would become victims of an elaborate con pulled off by two men from Tiruvallur who claimed the cars as their own by forging the owners' signatures and leasing them out to third parties in southern districts.

On Saturday, Tiruvallur district police arrested a man and seized 26 cars. Police said the duo has so far cheated at least 50 car owners with their devious scheme.

A special team headed by Tiruvallur DSP R Alagesan and Manavalan Nagar Inspector Ravikumar arrested the accused, Manoj Prabhakar who acted as a conduit to the main accused in luring 'customers'.

The accused first signed a deal with the car owners claiming they would give a monthly rent of Rs 30,000 and take the cars. They keep their word initially and pay the car owners for the first 3-4 months thereby gaining their trust and getting additional clients through them, a police officer said.

However, after a few months, the owners stop receiving the money and whenever they contact the accused, they are dodged with evasive replies. One of the car owners who referred his friends to the accused realised that they were being taken for a ride and approached Mappedu police in Tiruvallur district in March this year, police said.

"They take the cars to Tiruchy, Pudukottai and Ramanathapuram where they sign a fresh lease agreement with other parties claiming to be the owners by forging their signatures. They take about Rs 4 lakh for a car," said a police officer.

The arrested person, Manoj Prabhakar worked as a driver in a travel company. He was produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody. Special teams have been formed to trace the main suspect, Diwakar, police said.