Engineering student sells high-end Audi luxury car & STEALS it back; Busted!

An engineering student sold his car to a Ghaziabad-based artist only to steal it back. A well-known Ghaziabad-based sculptor, Sarfarazudin has registered a case against Manoj Singhal for allegedly stealing the Audi A6 sedan that he sold to the victim.

A senior police commissioner said Sarfarazudin registered a case at Hazrat Nizamuddin police station saying Manoj drove away with the car that he bought in January 2017. He bought the Audi A6 sedan for Rs. 17.5 lakh and had paid Rs. 50,000 as down payment to the accused. After the down payment, the car was handed over to the victim. An additional payment of Rs. 14 lakhs was made in instalments over the next few months through Internet banking. However, Manoj refused to transfer the registration certificate to Sarfarazudin’s name until the full payment was made.

On March 15, Manoj Singhal called the victim for the final payment at the Delhi National Zoological Park. Sarfarazudin went with his wife to meet Manoj and sat in the canteen for payment. However, after discussion, both the parties could not settle on the final price. Post-discussion, Manoj used the duplicate key of the Audi A6 and drove away with the car. Manoj allegedly did not hand over the duplicate key to the buyer at the time of handing over the vehicle.

After the complaint, Manoj was called in for questioning but he did not help in the investigation. After the accused did not cooperate in the investigation, a non-bailable warrant was issued against Manoj on Friday and a technical surveillance was mounted. A day after the surveillance, Singhal was arrested from Kashipur in Uttrakhand and the car was recovered from Bidanpur in Karol Bagh, where he had a mobile phone shop. Manoj Singhal is a B.Tech graduate who is pursuing M.Tech while operating the shop. The Audi A6 that was sold to the artist was being used as a cab in Delhi.

Selling or buying a used car? Be careful

One has to be extra cautious while dealing directly with buyers and sellers of automobiles. There have been many cases in the past where the buyer or the seller has been duped while dealing with a used car or bike. It is important to take care of a few things while dealing with used cars and bikes.

• See the deal through; if it is too good to be true, it could be a scam.
• Always keep receipts of the payments that you make. Never deal in cash; a payment without any paper trail can prove to be costly.
• Never meet a buyer or seller at a secluded place to hand over money. A public place is the best location to conduct such dealings.
• Always ensure that car registration is transferred as soon as the vehicle is handed over.
• Always take the duplicate keys. Insist on changing the locks if the seller says that the duplicate key is lost or stolen.

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