A cab driver-turned-travel agency operator is accused of illegally selling 70 rented cars outside Karnataka by creating fake documents.
Police say Shivakumar, a resident of Nagavara, initially drove a cab to make a living but later got into the poultry business in the Davangere district. The venture failed and he suffered losses. In order to make the loss good, he opened a travel agency called RS Travels in MES Layout, Bagalagunte, last March and employed two people — Krishnegowda and Srikanth, both from Hassan.
The firm leased about 70 cars by offering their owners attractive monthly or weekly rentals. The rented vehicles were, in turn, leased to private companies and tour agents.
The firm initially paid the car owners the promised rentals but defaulted soon after. When car owners demanded the payments, Shivakumar dilly-dallied. In November 2021, he disappeared along with his employees. The vehicles were gone too. The car owners filed complaints with Bagalagunte police.
A police investigation found that the vehicles had been sold off in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and some other places with fake documents.
Asghar, a vehicle broker from Goripalya, acted as the go-between for Shivakumar and the buyers.
Police recently caught Shivakumar in Mumbai based on technical evidence. Krishnegowda, Srikanth and Asghar were apprehended later.
For his part, Kumar has told the police that he recently paid some vehicle owners and denied cheating anyone.
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