Daijiworld Media Network - Chitradurga (SP)

Chitradurga, Nov 3: In a surprising case, it has been found that some car owners from Chitradurga and Davanagere, who had returned home from Bengaluru because of coronavirus-induced lockdown and were hoping to earn something by hiring their, were taken for a ride by a car driver. The man used to hire cars and then sell them off.

The person who turned nightmarish for the car owners happens to be Madhu alias Madhukumar, residing at Kavadigara Hatti in Chitradurga taluk. He is a car driver by profession. He had raised a lot of loans from friends and relatives. To repay these loans, he had sold off his Innova car. Still, the problem of debt persisted. Thereafter, he used to hire cars on rent from the owners of cars he knew. He then hypothecated these vehicles and raised loans. Out of this money, he partly paid the car owners. He used to keep the balance money with him.

Between February and now, he had taken on rent 12 cars on the promise of paying Rs 30,000 per month by way of hire charges. He used to make them believe him by claiming that he had bagged the contract for hiring cars on a large scale and that the company pays monthly hire charges to him.

The cars so kept by him are valued at about Rs 70 lac. He used to invite customers to various spots, give the cars as security, and raised a loan of Rs 12.20 lac. He used this money himself. After a person named Basavaraj from Davanagere complained, Bharamasagara police registered a case under the Indian Penal Code and began an investigation.

A team led by Bharamasagara police sub-inspector T Raju was formed to crack the case. On October 31, Madhukumar was arrested and 12 cars were impounded. The accused is now in judicial custody.