Car rental fraud gang busted in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Chilkalguda police on Thursday apprehended two notorious organised criminals who lured four-wheeler owners under the pretext of renting their vehicles and cheated them of about Rs 7 lakh. Police recovered eight cars worth Rs 80 lakh from their possession.

The arrested accused are Sangishetty Praveen Kumar (44) and G Amarendar (32), both residents of Secunderabad. Another accused, Md Rizwan, remains absconding.

According to police, the prime accused Praveen lured car owners with promises of high monthly rents and secured their vehicles. He, along with his associates Rizwan and Amarendar, neither paid the agreed rentals nor returned the vehicles. The gang reportedly used the rented vehicles across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, handing them over to different individuals with the intent to defraud the owners.

Police said a complaint was received from N Gyaneshwar of Amberpet. In his complaint, Gyaneshwar stated that Praveen, who works at Sri Laxmi Logistics, requested vehicles for rent, offering Rs 25,000 per month for 7-seaters and Rs 20,000 for 5-seaters. Believing him, Gyaneshwar and his friends handed over a total of eight vehicles. When Praveen failed to pay the rent and refused to return the cars, it was found that he had criminally misappropriated them, said B Balaswamy, DCP East Zone. The accused were arrested on Thursday, and all eight vehicles were recovered from their possession.

Police have cautioned car owners intending to rent their vehicles to verify the background of rental agencies and remain vigilant to avoid falling prey to such fraudulent gangs.