CHENNAI: The number of times one can get cheated is directly proportional to who the cheater is. An interior decorator, who made the mistake of trusting his “friend” learnt that lesson the hard way — after losing three luxury cars and Rs 15 lakh cash.
Thaniga is a movie financier based in Uthandi, near Chennai. He was friends with Khivraj, an interior decorator. In 2018, when Khivraj was in need of some money, he pledged his BMW and its documents to Thaniga and borrowed Rs 6 lakh.
Later, Khivraj repaid the sum and took his car back, but the documents were not returned. Thaniga convinced Khivraj that he had misplaced them. A few months later, Thaniga borrowed the car from Khivraj for his personal use. It was never returned. There went the car number-1.
A few months later, Khivraj tells his “friend” that he is planning to buy a new car. Thaniga promises to arrange one for him, and takes Rs 15 lakh for the payment. Again, a new BMW arrives. But, Khivraj finds some issues with the car papers, and decides to return the vehicle. Thaniga takes the vehicle but does not return the cash.
That is car number-2. After two BMWs, Thaniga was not done taking his friend for a ride. When Khivraj buys a car for himself, a new Audi, Thaniga asks if he can take it for a ride. Khivraj lends his Audi for Thaniga to go on a trip. That car, too, does not come back. At this point, Khivraj decides to look into the matter. He realises that Thaniga had sold his first BMW to a person in Coimbatore. He had not lost the documents, but had used them to sell the car. He had also sold the Audi to a person in Hosur. Two of the cars were retrieved.