Law officer in Mumbai police commissioner's office duped into buying stolen car on OLX

Law officer paid some amount in cash and some via online transfer

A law officer in the office of the Mumbai commissioner of police has been duped of Rs 4.8 lakh by a couple, who sold her a stolen car through online marketplace OLX. The accused, habitual offenders, are currently in jail in a different case.

The 37-year-old Malad East resident, who does not wish to be named, purchased a Maruti Suzuki Ciaz from the accused - Tigen Alyaris and his girlfriend Sweta Pandey - in November. A few months later, in April, Charkop police came knocking at their doors to inform them that the car was stolen, and seized it.

Police told mid-day that the two are habitual offenders, and that seven-eight criminal cases, including of rape and under POCSO Act, are registered against Alyaris across the city. The Kurar police, in whose jurisdiction the officer lives, registered a case of forgery and cheating on Sunday and started an investigation. The accused are residents of Malwani in Malad.

Bought in Nov

"My husband and I decided to purchase a car for our family in November last year, so we checked OLX and found a Maruti Suzuki Ciaz for Rs 6.25 lakh. The car number was MH-02-EU-7053 and the listing was made on November 7. We contacted the seller, who introduced himself as Tigen Alyaris and Pandey as his wife. He called us to Sai Baba Sankul at Gokuldham in Goregaon East on November 13 to see the car, which was parked on the road. On enquiry, Alyaris said he lives in the adjacent building. We finalised the deal at Rs 5.11 lakh, and gave them a token amount of Rs 11,000. We also checked his Aadhaar card, and their address was at Orlem Church, Malad West," said the officer.

When the time came for payment, Alyaris said that he had a current account and the transaction would affect his GST account, said the officer. "He asked us to transfer the money to Pandey's account. We then asked for the RC book, insurance and other car documents, which he sent me on WhatsApp. The papers were in someone else's name, and we enquired about it, and Alyaris said he had bought the car from that person but didn't transfer the papers to his name. We believed him and gave them around Rs 4.80 lakh, some amount in cash and some via online transfer. They gave us the car, which had tinted glasses and a Shiv Sena sticker on the front," the officer added.

Lost in April

"A few days ago, we received a call from Assistant Police Inspector Jinpal Waghmare of Charkop police station, informing us that we were using a stolen car, and that a case in this regard is registered with them. We checked the RC book again and found out that it was forged. I then filed a complaint at Kurar police station on Sunday," she said.

Investigation officer Satish Bhalerao of Kurar police station said, "We have registered the case, but have not arrested the accused yet, as they are already in jail following their arrest by Samta Nagar police [in a different case of selling a stolen car]." Waghmare said, "We received the information from a source about a stolen car at Malad East and when we reached there, we found that it's being used by a law officer at the Mumbai police commissioner headquarters. We informed them that it's a stolen car. We have recovered the car and we will take the accused in custody."