Travel agency manager arrested for cheating car dealer

The city police have arrested a manager of a tour and travel agency and recovered 24 cars worth Rs 1.5 crore.

The accused Chethan Kumar, a resident of Mandya, contacted Sunil Kumar, who had posted an advertisement to rent cars on the internet.

The police said Chethan took four cars from Sunil, offering to pay Rs 30,000 per month as rent for each car. After paying the rent for two months, Chethan asked Sunil to arrange 20 more cars, offering a sizable rent.

Excited by the offer, Sunil arranged 20 more cars and handed it over to Chethan, who sold the cars and escaped.

Based on a complaint filed by Sunil, the Jnanabharathi police tracked down Chethan and recovered the cars that he had sold across the state.

In a similar case, the police have arrested Asir Ahmed (30), Imtiyaz (38) and Imdad Khan (34) and recovered six cars worth Rs 50 lakh from them.

The accused contacted people renting automobiles through the internet and ran away with the vehicles. They then sold the vehicles to their contacts in Chennai and other places and shared the loot.

The accused are employees of city-based tours and travels, the police said.