The Yeshwantpur police on Monday arrested a five-member gang that rented vehicles and sold them by changing their registration numbers.
Police recovered an SUV worth Rs 32 lakh and 13 bikes from the arrested men —Arif, 26, and his associates Koustubh, 32, from Belagavi; and Syed Arman, 23, Sulaiman Pasha, 23, and Tousif, 26, from Chandra Layout and Chamarajpet.
They were arrested based on a complaint by a city-based businessman Girish that they tried selling him an SUV for Rs 5 lakh with registration documents.
Girish said in his complaint that he met the prime accused Arif and Koustubh a couple of days ago when he was travelling to the city from Belagavi. The duo introduced themselves as dealers of second-hand vehicles and offered to get him a vehicle in good condition for a cheaper price. They took his contact number.
On Sunday, Arif called Girish to inform him that he has a Toyota Fortuner with a sale price of Rs 5 lakh. After a test drive, Girish agreed to buy the vehicle and asked for the vehicle documents. The accused took Rs 5,000 and gave him a photocopy of the vehicle documents. He asked Girish to arrange for the remaining amount.
Girish checked the government transport department’s website and found out that the documents given to him had been fabricated. He later filed a complaint with the Yeshwantpur police.
A senior police officer said the accused had rented the vehicle to go to Goa.
They later escaped with the vehicle, changed its registration number and created fake vehicle documents. He said the accused had stolen many vehicles using the same method.