Cheating gang held, seven cars worth ₹80 lakh recovered in Hyderabad
HYDERABAD: The Chilkalguda police arrested two members of a cheating gang that allegedly duped several car owners by taking their vehicles on a rental basis and later selling or renting them to others without payment. Officers said seven cars, valued at about ₹80 lakh, were recovered.
The accused were identified as Sangishetty Praveen Kumar, 44, of Namalagundu, and G. Amarendar, 32, of Tarnaka. A third accused, Md Rizwan, 33, of Mustaidpura, is absconding.
Police said Praveen approached car owners claiming to work for a logistics firm and offered attractive monthly rents ₹25,000 for seven-seaters and ₹20,000 for five-seaters. After paying a few instalments to gain their trust, he allegedly stopped payments and, with his associates, handed the vehicles to others in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Complainant loses ₹9.10 lakh
On October 5, 2025, N. Gyaneshwar of Amberpet lodged a complaint stating that he and his friends had given eight cars to Praveen. When the accused failed to pay rent, he demanded the vehicles back but was told they had been given to Rizwan and Amarendar for ₹9.10 lakh.
Based on the complaint, police registered a case (Crime No. 520/2025) under Sections 318(4), 316(5), and 111 read with 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Seven vehicles traced
The recovered cars include:
Ertiga (TS-11-UD-0785) – owned by N. Gyaneshwar, Amberpet
Swift Dzire (TS-11-UD-1975) – owned by M. Pandu, Bagh Amberpet
Ertiga (TS-02-UD-9727) – owned by B. Rajitha, Karimnagar
Baleno (TG-15-T-2197) – owned by B. Manikanta, Ameenpur
Ertiga (TS-10-UC-8318) – owned by D. Sudharshan, Bansilalpet
Dzire (TS-11-UD-0948) – owned by G. Murali Kumar, Moosarambagh
Ertiga (TS-02-UD-5640) – owned by V. Sravani, Karimnagar
Warning to car owners
Police advised vehicle owners to verify the credentials of rental agencies before leasing out their cars. “Several gangs lure owners with high rental offers and then cheat them,” said Inspector B. Anudeep of Chilkalguda police station.
The arrests were made by a team led by Inspector Anudeep, Sub-Inspector S. Anjaneyulu and staff, under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police B. Balaswamy, Additional DCP J. Narsaiah, and Assistant Commissioner K. Shashank Reddy. Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad, commended the team and announced rewards.
