JOIN USPosing as a customer, a man made away with a Nissan Kicks worth Rs 16.6 lakh from a showroom on the pretext of taking the vehicle for a puja, on Outer Ring Road in Doddanekundi.
Though the incident happened on January 23, the showroom owner filed a complaint with the HAL police only on May 23. The plaint was transferred to Mahadevapura police station on June 6.
Ganesh Kumar Shetty, owner of Surya Nissan Lakshmi Car Zone Private Limited, said in his complaint that around 6.30 pm on January 23, a man named Jose Thomas alias Joseph walked into the showroom and inquired about the Nissan Kicks top-end variant.
The on-road cost of the vehicle was Rs 18.6 lakh and Thomas offered to pay Rs 2 lakh in cash. On the pretext of taking the new SUV for a puja, he drove it off from the showroom but never returned.
In his plaint, Shetty said Thomas had agreed to pay the remaining Rs 16.6 lakh soon after the puja. The showroom staff waited for him for hours. But there was no trace of the man or the SUV.
The car had a temporary registration number and the staff had allowed Thomas to take it on the basis of trust. The staff contacted Thomas’ mobile number and even visited his office. His phone remained unanswered and he was unavailable at his office. After waiting for nearly four months, Shetty filed a plaint. Police have taken up a case.