The Chilkalguda police on Thursday arrested two notorious organized criminals involved in defrauding car owners of about Rs7 lakh under the pretext of renting vehicles. Police also recovered eight cars worth ₹80 lakh from their possession.
The arrested accused are Sangishetty Praveen Kumar (44) and G Amarendar (32), both residents of Secunderabad. Another gang member, Md Rizwan, remains absconding, authorities said.
Police reported that the prime accused Praveen lured car owners with promises of high monthly rentals. He, along with Rizwan and Amarendar, neither paid the agreed rent nor returned the vehicles. The gang allegedly used the cars across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, handing them over to different individuals to defraud the owners.
A complaint was filed by N. Gyaneshwar of Amberpet, who stated that Praveen, working at Sri Laxmi Logistics, promised Rs25,000 per month for 7-seaters and Rs20,000 for 5-seaters. Trusting him, Gyaneshwar and his friends handed over eight vehicles. When the rent was not paid and the cars were not returned, it became clear that Praveen and his associates had criminally misappropriated the vehicles, said DCP East Zone B. Balaswamy.
All eight vehicles were recovered, and the accused have been arrested. Police have advised car owners to verify the credentials of rental agencies and exercise caution to avoid falling prey to such fraudulent gangs.
