HYDERABAD: A three-member inter-state gang involved in car thefts that they rented on OLX and then disposed-off after changing number plates were arrested by the Raidurgam police of Cyberabad on Saturday. The members of the gang after taking the vehicle removed the GPS devices said the police. Three cars were recovered from them.
DCP Madhapur, A Venkateshwar Rao said that the gang had committed similar offenses in Hyderabad, Goa, Pune and other parts of Maharashtra. “Three cars worth Rs 37 lakh were recovered, while three more cars are yet to be recovered,” said the DCP. According to the police, Nidhish Vinayak Kalamkari, a Pune-based Kennel owner, is the king-pin of the gang.
Their modus operandi was to contact owners who rent out vehicles on the OLX website. Identifying himself as a techie, Nidhish would pay an advance, and deposit his Aadhar card and a canceled cheque, which were all fake. After he picked the vehicle, George Christopher Joseph, an expert in operating GPS devices and working at a self-driven car rental agency, removed the GPS device from the vehicle, to avoid being tracked.
Sushanth Suresh Gharge, an expert driver and fluent in English and Hindi, would drive the vehicles from Hyderabad to Pune. In Pune, they would tamper the vehicle’s number plate and other details, create fake registration number and sell the cars for cheap rates. Bandu Maniya, absconding, assisted the gang members in identifying prospective owners on social media and via newspaper advertisements.