The Wagle Estate Police have arrested Dnyaneshwar Koli (40) and Dinesh Patil (43) for allegedly defrauding citizens by promising scooters for sale and then siphoning off the payments.
Among the victims was a 42-year-old medical shop owner from Louiswadi, who lost nine scooters worth a total of Rs 5.4 lakh. The scam, which took place between March 26 and April 10, 2023, came to light when complainant Sandeep Dashrath Galande was shown new scooters and paid Rs 60,000 per vehicle, believing he was purchasing them. However, the scooters were never transferred.
Police investigations revealed that the accused convinced buyers to take bank loans for scooters but retained the vehicles, later using the same scooters to cheat additional buyers. A total of seven scooters worth Rs 4.2 lakh were recovered so far.
Authorities continue their search for the remaining vehicles and other potential victims linked to the scam.
