Money exchanger in Mercedes falls victim to oil leak trick in Chandigarh, loses Rs 16.5 lakh

Three unidentified men, two of them on a bike, fled with a suitcase containing Rs 16.5 lakh from a Mercedes car after bluffing about an oil leak near Sector 61, a short distance from the Mohali-Chandigarh border, on Thursday.

The victim was Sat Paul Bansal, 65, owner of Paul Merchants, a tricity-based currency exchange venture. Bansal, a resident of Sector 8, was on his way to his Mohali office in Phase 7, police said. He was sitting in the back while the car was being driven by a chauffeur.

“Two men on a bike, riding close to the car, began signalling Bansal and his driver about something amiss with the car. Bansal then asked the driver to stop, thinking the men must be asking for something. When the driver got off, a third person came from behind and took away a suitcase containing Rs 16.5 lakh cash from Bansal,” said a police official, requesting anonymity.

A case was registered under Section 379 (theft) of the Indian Penal Code against unidentified persons. The probing officials said a particular gang was operating in the city, whose modus operandi was to bluff about oil leaks in vehicles and rob residents.