Noida man uses fake documents to buy luxury cars, detained

NOIDA: Noida police have arrested a man for allegedly orchestrating a series of fraudulent schemes using forged documents to acquire high-end cars, officers said on Saturday.

The police are investigating to what extent the suspect's wife was also involved. She is wanted in the case but has not been arrested, officers said. (Representative image) — The police are investigating to what extent the suspect’s wife was also involved. She is wanted in the case but has not been arrested, officers said. (Representative image)

The suspect, Rajdeb Kumar Deb, 38, a resident of Tower A 1, Cleo County, Sector 121, was arrested by the Noida Phase 1 police on Friday following a complaint from a dealer in Sector 5, they said.

“During interrogation, it was revealed that the accused had booked a Tata Safari car from a dealership in Sector 5, Noida on August 10, 2023, paying ₹11,000 online. During the delivery, Rajdeb and his wife Koyal Deb issued a check from their bank account in the name of the dealer. However, they immediately stopped the check and created a fake message to show payment ₹Rs 26 lakh was deposited into the dealer’s account, securing delivery of the car,” said Ram Badan Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP).

The police are investigating to what extent the suspect’s wife was also involved. She is wanted in the case but has not been arrested, officers said, adding that she is not absconding.

“Further investigation by the dealer revealed that the check issued by the suspect had not been cashed. The message shown to the agency was also fake. Although it appeared that the dealer’s account briefly reflected payment, upon further investigation no payment had actually been credited. Taking advantage of this discrepancy, the suspects managed to take delivery of the vehicle,” the DCP added.

Subsequent investigations revealed that the suspect had used similar fraudulent tactics to obtain two other vehicles – one worth approximately ₹22 lakhs from a Noida dealer, worth one ₹30 lakhs from a dealer at Najafgarh Road, Delhi, and another at Moti Nagar, Delhi, police said, adding that the modus operandi included issuing fake checks and forging online banking payment notices to dupe dealers.

The list of vehicles purchased in this manner included Tata Safari car acquired from Sagar Motors Sector 5 Noida, Grand Vitara worth approximately ₹22 lakhs, and Toyota Hilux worth approx ₹30 lakhs from Rana Motors, Noida and Galaxy Toyota Najafgarh Road Moti Nagar, Delhi respectively, officers said.

“The suspect revealed that when agencies followed up on the payment, he verbally and in writing assured them to pay the amount before the issuance of the RC (registration certificate) of the vehicle. This insurance delayed complaints to the transportation department, allowing the suspect to obtain the RC and then sell the vehicles for financial gain. For example, he admitted that he had sold the Tata Safari, obtained from the Sector 5 Noida dealer, through another dealer to a person named Lalit Kumar Dixit in Delhi. ₹12 lakhs,” Singh added.

Officers said that last year at the Phase 3 police station, Noida, a case was registered against Rajdeb under multiple sections including Indian Penal Code section 420 (cheating), 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust), 467 (forgery), 468 (forgery for the purpose of deception), 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic document) and section 120B (criminal conspiracy).