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Auto driver duped of ₹1.2 lakh in online car sale fraud
Gurugram: A 32-year-old autorickshaw driver, who wanted to buy a secondhand car on an online marketplace, was allegedly duped of ₹1.2 lakh by a fraudster, said the
Gurugram: A 32-year-old autorickshaw driver, who wanted to buy a secondhand car on an online marketplace, was allegedly duped of ₹1.2 lakh by a fraudster, said the police.
The incident took place in November last year when the driver, Ravi Shankar, a resident of Kanhai village in Sector 40, saw an advertisement about the sale of a Maruti WagonR car online at a cheap price. He contacted the seller, who introduced himself as Naveen Kumar, a government employee in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
The police said that a deal was finalised for ₹1.2 lakh after negotiation.
Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police (crime), said that the suspect shared pictures of the car, sent photocopies of the car’s registration and insurance documents and his Aadhaar card to gain the driver’s trust.
“Shankar initially transferred the token amount of ₹30,000 through an e-wallet account on November 1, and the final amount of ₹90,000 was transferred on November 2. The suspect told him that he could come and take the car from Dehradun after the full payment,” Sangwan said. The police official said the documents, which may be fake or stolen, are still to be traced back to the name holder.
On November 2, Shankar called the suspect requesting to visit Dehradun the following day for the delivery, but the latter denied and asked him to call in the evening, said the police.
The police said that after waiting for six hours, Shankar called the suspect but his mobile phone was switched off. Then the victim contacted the police.
“I realised that I had been duped, and filed a complaint at Sector 40 police station,” Shankar said.
According to the police, the cyber crime cell conducted an investigation and submitted a report on Monday. An FIR was registered under sections 420 (cheating) and (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code at Sector 40 police station on Tuesday, the police said.
