Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Mar 28: A person who used his intelligence to hoodwink a couple of car drivers and got a free ride in their cars got caught after he ran out of luck. He stands arrested by Mulky police.

The man who is arrested now, happens to be Binoy Shetty (33) residing near Chambar Thota, Hejamady in Udupi district. He had hired a car belonging to Shankar from Mulky and tried to cheat him.

Initially Binoy had booked a tourist car belonging to a travel agency near Mulky bus stand under the guise of touring the district. As per his wishes, he was first taken to Kateel temple at his instance by driver of the car, Shankar. From there, he wanted to go to Mangaluru. When the car reached Bajpe, he asked the driver to take a U-turn as he needed to go to Manipal urgently. After going around Manipal in the car, he asked Shankar to go to Mangaluru. There too, the car was moving around the city, after which he informed the driver that he had to go to Mumbai the next day, and escaped without paying hire charges to the driver.

It is learnt that Binoy and driver Shankar had food in a hotel near knakanady in the city and Binoy got the bill settled through the driver, telling him that he would withdraw from ATM and pay to him. He then  went to Mannaguda  in the city where he got down from the car and disappeared, duly telling the car driver that he would return in a few minutes.

Binoy then moved towards Mumbai in a car he had booked online thorugh Ravi Poojary, Lalbagh in the city, without the knowledge of Shankar.

Shankar,who was worried when Binoy did not return, contacted the owner of the tourist car and president of taxi owners' association. They went into task immediately and contacted the driver of the car through the taxi owners' association in the city, and asked him to come back. The car was in Kumta when the call went to the driver.

Once the car returned to Mulky, the Mulky police took Binoy Shetty into custody and began investiating the cheating case.