Recovery agents rentout seized vehicles, held

Two men working for an agency contracted to seize autorickshaws from owners failing to pay dues and returning them to the lenders instead rented the vehicles to make quick money.

Police arrested recovery agents D Raju, a resident of Banashankari, and Hemanth Kumar, a resident of Basaveshwara Nagar, and seized 12 autorickshaws worth Rs 13 lakh.

The Srirampuram police said the agency owner Ramesh has been absconding and efforts are on to trace him.

Ramesh started SR Consultancy Agency in Magadi Road and took contracts from banks and private financiers to seize autorickshaws from defaulters who failed to pay the equated monthly instalments (EMIs) on the vehicles.

The agents kept the seized vehicles with them for a few days and rented them out if the owners did not contact them. But if the owners came asking for the vehicles, they would hand the autorickshaws to the lender.

On December 18, 2018, an autorickshaw owner Afzal Khan lodged a complaint with the Srirampuram police that his vehicle was stolen.

The Srirampuram police probed the case to find out that his vehicle had indeed been rented out.