Suspects impersonating loan recovery agents snatch SUV, extort money from Gurugram man

Police booked four people for allegedly extorting money from a man and snatching his car after taking him to a secluded place in Bhondsi on September 8, officials said on Tuesday.

According to cops, the suspects intercepted Sharad Chandra Haryana’s car near Maruti Kunj, identifying themselves as loan recovery agents. Following this, one of them forcibly entered the vehicle and drove him away. They kept him confined for more than two hours and took away all the money from his wallet, along with the vehicle.

Sharad, a Sector 67 resident, visited the office of the firm which financed his car the next day to enquire about the incident. He purchased the car on August 27, 2020, and failed to pay seven EMIs, police said. The firm told him that they were unaware of the incident and has no record of the agents he mentioned.

Police said the suspects first intercepted Sharad’s car near Maruti Kunj on August 5 when he was with family. “They asked him to hand over the vehicle but Sharad said he would drop it off later. The suspects then asked him for money and Sharad paid 15000 via UPI to one of the suspects,” a senior police officer informed. The suspects intercepted him again in Badshahpur after ten days and coerced him to pay another instalment. “Sharad paid 38070 in cash to one of the suspects and assured him of clearing the rest of the amount soon,” he said.

According to Sharad, he owned an interior construction firm which shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “This was the reason why I could not make the EMI payments. The financing firm fixed a meeting for settlement but the suspects approached me before that,” he alleged. He claimed the suspects had details of several cars and their respective owners, including his, who missed their EMIs. “I believed them to be agents from the financing firm,” he said.

Based on Sharad’s complaint, an FIR under sections 34 (common intention), 342 (wrongful confinement), 384 (extortion), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code was registered at Bhondsi police station on Monday.

Inspector Devender Kumar, station house officer, Bhondsi police station, said the firm submitted in writing that they did not ask any agent to approach the complainant to collect EMIs or take away his car. They also confirmed that none of the suspects was their employee. “The prime suspects will be arrested soon,” Kumar added.