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Because drivers’ groups or owners use GPS devices to locate vehicles themselves, activist G Ramachandran urged police to investigate, saying many victims do not lodge complaints. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Madurai | Silver Rate in Madurai | Bank Holidays in Madurai | Public Holidays in Madurai | Madurai AQI | Weather in Madurai | Petrol Price in Madurai | Diesel Price in Madurai | CNG Price in Madurai | LPG Price in Madurai Stay updated with the latest Madurai news.
“This is an organised racket and needs immediate police attention,” he said. “Earlier, a gang hired cars through self-drive applications, moved them to northern states and sold them using forged particulars,” the officer said. A senior Madurai police officer described it as an emerging method of vehicle fraud. Men from Tirunelveli were arrested in that case, the officer added. Download the TOI App.
An agent, Venkatesan, soon telephoned Raja, visited his house and offered Rs1,500 a day after collecting copies of its registration certificate and insurance papers. Payments arrived regularly through Google Pay during the first 15 days, giving him little reason for concern. Union representatives said agents sometimes raise Rs 4 lakh to Rs 6 lakh against each vehicle and use part of the proceeds to pay rents to car owners.
A friend suggested earning “easy money” by leasing one vehicle through a rental agent. “Venkatesan told me he works for a private travel agency that supplies cars on rent to National Highways Authority of India,” Raja said. “The agent had pledged it to a local finance company (NBFC), which sold it for Rs3 lakh after replacing its registration plate with false details,” Raja said.
Little did he know that he would be a victim of a new vehicle fraud in which agents pledge cars with finance companies for loans or even sell them at half their price using fake number plates. The arrangement began in the first week of August. The transfers abruptly stopped in the third week of August, while Venkatesan could no longer be reached by telephone. Unsure how to proceed, Raja contacted his friend and learnt that payments for his vehicle had also ceased. They then approached Matrathai Nokki Otunar Tholiar Sangam, or Drivers’ Union Towards a Change, which has helped victims trace and retrieve nearly seven vehicles. Information about Raja’s missing Dzire was circulated across the union’s WhatsApp groups. A union driver later spotted the vehicle outside a house in Kamudhi in Ramanathapuram district. When borrowers default, lenders repossess the vehicles, while others are allegedly resold for about half their market value using substituted plates.
Madurai: Raja Kannan bought a new Maruti Swift Dzire last year, leaving two cars at his Madurai home.
Daily offers of Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500 appeal to owners struggling to repay vehicle loans, he said. Because of exhaustion, fewer bookings, rising fuel costs or overdue instalments, union member Elango Ramachandran said intermediaries target households with spare cars, and drivers unable to operate.
“They come with stamped agreements and claim the vehicles will serve NHAI, railways or PWD, even placing ‘On Duty’ stickers on windscreens,” Elango said. When payments stop, owners become suspicious, but agents may have already disappeared after disposing of the vehicles,” he said. “By pledging several cars, they secure enough cash to keep rents circulating initially.