4 FIRs in 5 days blow lid off used-car sale racket in Gujarat

4 FIRs in 5 days, 12 separate complaints to police blow lid off alleged scam in Nadiad; Hyundai Aura, Tata Altroz, Suzuki XL6 cars targeted in fraud

Imagine handing over your car for sale or exchange to someone who promises you an attractive price and/ or a big discount on your new car. But the proceeds of the sale never reach you – and you discover that you have lost both your car and the money that you thought you would make.

On Tuesday (September 16), an FIR was registered at the Kapadvanj Town police station against one Rajan Joshi, who police said is a “manager” at Progressive Cars Pvt Ltd, a Tata Motors franchise in Nadiad. This FIR was the fourth in five days accusing Joshi of used-car fraud.

The first FIR was lodged at Nadiad Town police station on September 9. It was based on a complaint by the owner of a Maruti Suzuki XL6 who alleged that Joshi had sold off the car for Rs 6.25 lakh without the knowledge of the complainant, and had also not paid him any money from the sale.

The Progressive Cars Tata Motors franchise in Nadiad is allied with the dealership’s main showroom in Anand. A spokesperson at the Nadiad franchise told The Indian Express that Joshi was a “Team Leader” who projected himself as a “Manager”.

Joshi is on the run, police said.

The first FIR of September 9 opened the floodgates for a series of complaints from both car owners and car dealers, police said.

Nadiad Deputy Superintendent of Police V R Bajpayee told The Indian Express that a total of 13 individuals had come forward with similar complaints since the matter came to light.

“The case pertains to a manager of a Tata Motors showroom in Nadiad. The accused promised the car owners good value for their used cars and went ahead and sold them – in some cases without even letting the owners know. He did not transfer the money to the owners either,” Bajpayee said.

A phone call from a used-car dealer to an owner whose car was hypothecated to a bank blew the lid off the alleged scam, Bajpayee said.

“When the car dealer called the owner for the required No-Objection Certificate (NOC), the owner was surprised to know that his car had been sold off without his permission,” the officer said.

“It was after this case that 12 other complainants came forward,” Bajpayee said. “Police are lodging FIRs in the cases where the complainants are willing to take the legal process forward,” he said.

‘Rs 25 lakh collected from dealer, zero cars delivered’

In the Kapadvanj FIR filed on Tuesday, a used-car dealer and his brother have alleged that Joshi collected more than Rs 25 lakh in connection with deals involving several vehicles, but failed to complete the promised transactions.

According to the complaint filed by Bhadresh Patel, who runs a used-car dealership called Jay Ambe Auto Consult in Kapadvanj, Joshi offered to arrange a Honda Amaze, a Hyundai Aura, a Tata Nexon and a Suzuki Ertiga for him.

Patel has alleged in the complaint that he paid Joshi cash in several instalments, and also made transactions through bank accounts. Despite receiving the money, however, Joshi allegedly failed to provide Patel with the promised NOCs.

In the case of an Ertiga, Joshi allegedly took Rs 7 lakh but did not deliver the vehicle, says the complaint. Patel also alleged that the original owner of an Aura supplied by Joshi had told him (Patel) that he (original owner) had not received the payment for the car.

The complaint also alleged that Joshi had taken a Tata Altroz from another person and sold it without paying the owner of the car the promised sum of Rs 7.20 lakh.

A Hyundai Aura, a WagonR, and three alleged victims

For Bhadresh Patel, the alarm bells started ringing after Joshi allegedly stopped responding to his phone calls. In the first week of September, Joshi switched off his mobile phone altogether, Patel said.

Some complainants have told police that they came in contact with Joshi through the Tata dealership and ended up trusting him.

In a complaint registered at the Nadiad Rural police station on September 12, one Dilipkumar Barot, a resident of Manjipura in Nadiad town, alleged that Joshi took his Hyundai Aura saying that the car would be displayed at the Progressive Cars showroom, and later sold it without his consent.

In his complaint, Barot said he had bought the car in 2022 after taking a bank loan of Rs 8.09 lakh, with a repayment EMI of Rs 13,278. On August 26, Barot had visited the Tata showroom to inquire about buying a new car. There, he had met Joshi, who had allegedly valued both Barot’s Aura as well as the vehicle of a friend of Barot’s at approximately Rs 4.20 lakh each, the complaint said.

According to the complaint, Joshi had contacted Barot two days later with an alleged “festive exchange offer” under which benefits of Rs 1.50 lakh to Rs 2 lakh would be available to him.

But Barot was not convinced – so Joshi allegedly assured him that he would only take the Aura to display at the showroom, and the car would not be sold without first checking with him. Barot agreed – and Joshi allegedly left his own WagonR behind for Barot to use in the interim.

On September 8, Barot received a call from Bhadresh Patel, who allegedly told him that he had bought Barot’s Aura from Joshi for Rs 4.90 lakh, paying Rs 3.70 lakh by cheque and Rs 1.20 lakh in cash.

A horrified Barot tried to contact Joshi, but found his phone switched off.

Later that afternoon, a man showed up at Barot’s home and allegedly claimed that the WagonR that Joshi had left behind actually belonged to him, and that he too had been duped by Joshi. This man then drove away in the WagonR, Barot told police.

A lawyer’s Tata Altroz, and promise of ‘benefits’ on new car

The second FIR lodged at Nadiad Town police station on September 10 was filed by lawyer Nitiraj Mistry, who alleged that he was cheated of Rs 8.60 lakh after he handed over his Tata Altroz for “exchange”.

According to the FIR, Mistry had purchased the car in his mother’s name in 2023 after taking a loan from a bank. Joshi had allegedly told the lawyer that the car would fetch Rs 8.60 lakh, and had collected the vehicle from the parking area of the Nadiad court complex.

Mistry told police that Joshi had asked him to clear the outstanding loan and obtain an NOC from the bank. Mistry had subsequently paid Rs 3,47,583 to the lender, obtained the NOC, and sent it to Joshi.

Joshi allegedly told Mistry that the car would be first repaired at a workshop in Anand, and that Mistry would receive a cheque after its sale. He also allegedly offered Mistry Rs 1.50 lakh in “dealer and loyalty discounts” on the purchase of a new car. But the payment did not arrive.

So Mistry showed up at the Progressive Cars showroom. There, he allegedly discovered that another individual had already made full payment for his vehicle, police said.

Mistry alleged that employees at the showroom could not explain the transaction to him. So he registered a police complaint against Joshi, the Tata Motors dealer, and a staffer named Jigar.

‘Lured by ‘discounts’, victims put money in account of Joshi’s wife’

According to Progressive Cars, Joshi frequently spent time at their Nadiad establishment, where he would show customers models that were not available at the company’s outlet in Kapadvanj, which was smaller and could display only one car at a time.

A regional executive of Progressive Cars said the company and the dealership had discovered the alleged scam on September 8, when people with whom Joshi had struck deals showed up looking for Jigar, the company employee to whom Joshi had directed them.

“In our preliminary inquiry into the incident, we have learnt that Rajan Joshi had already sent messages to the people (complainants) he was dealing with, directing them to meet Jigar at the Nadiad showroom to seek further information as he was going to be unavailable due to personal reasons,” the executive said.

“However, when the customers (complainants) arrived at the showroom, Jigar was caught unawares, and the entire episode was unearthed,” the executive said.

The executive also said that the company was looking into its accounts to check for other possible fraud by Joshi.

“We have discovered that a few new cars were given to people without following the proper procedure for sale. One of these cars is also hypothecated to a bank. We are gathering the details, checking accounts, and tallying the vehicle inventory before proceeding with a police complaint against Rajan,” the executive said.

According to the Progressive Cars executive, Joshi convinced the complainants to make payments into the bank account of his wife, Kinjal Bhatt.

“Some of the individuals who have now filed FIRs, made payments into Rajan’s wife’s account as per his instructions, bypassing the dealership company account because they were lured by the heavy discounts and promises that he offered in his personal capacity. We want to caution customers that they must ensure they make payments to genuine dealership accounts and not to individuals,” the executive said.

DySP Bajpayee said, “Joshi is currently on the run. Teams have been formed to look for him. We are conducting the probe.”