BHUBANESWAR: In a bizarre incident, a trader was duped by a city youth who offered to sell an SUV on an online classified website and later fled with `2.65 lakh.
The accused was identified as Trupti Ranjan Dash alias Tushar alias Asish who used different names on each occasion when he posted an online advertisement for sale of second hand vehicles.
Responding to one such advertisement placed by Trupti on April 13, Arjun Ram of Jodhpur approached him to purchase an SUV for `2.65 lakh.
Ram reached the Capital and met Dash at Station Square where the latter asked him to pay `2.5 lakh as advance and remaining amount after the ownership and NOC documents were ready. An unsuspecting Ram agreed to the deal but was told that since paper work would take some time, he would get the vehicle a week later.
According to the victim, when he returned to Bhubaneswar after a week, Dash refused to pay the money or give him the vehicle. However, Dash gave a cheque of the same amount he had taken from Ram. But, the cheque bounced and Ram filed a complaint with Kharvela Nagar police. A few days later, the same vehicle was put for sale on the online classified website and the contact person on this occasion was Asish.
Police after being apprised about the new offer laid a trap and arrested Trupti on Monday. He was produced in a court and sent to judicial custody.