Bengaluru: A man posing as a car dealer allegedly cheated several car owners by targeting vehicles listed for sale on OLX.Annapoorneshwarinagar police arrested Guruprasad P, 40, who allegedly promised vehicle owners that he would clear their outstanding car loans before taking possession of the vehicles. Instead, he reportedly resold the cars at low prices without repaying the loans, leaving the original owners liable for the pending EMIs and the buyers facing financial difficulties.Police have seized eight cars and are investigating whether Guruprasad was involved in similar cases.Ajay Kumar, 29, a resident of Nagarabhavi, stated in the complaint filed on Aug 13 that he had purchased an MG Astor bearing registration number KA-51-MW-2274 in Jan 2025 by taking a loan of Rs 8.9 lakh from a finance firm and paying Rs 70,000 as a down payment. In July 2025, due to financial difficulties, he decided to sell the vehicle and uploaded its photographs and details on OLX. A man identified as Guruprasad contacted him and expressed interest in purchasing the SUV. After negotiations, the deal was fixed at Rs 9.6 lakh.Guruprasad paid Rs 1.9 lakh in cash as an advance and told Ajay that he would take responsibility for the remaining loan of around Rs 7.7 lakh. Trusting him, he handed over the SUV along with its RC card and original insurance documents at his residence. However, trouble began when the finance firm contacted Ajay over the unpaid loan instalments.When Ajay approached Guruprasad and asked him either to clear the outstanding dues or return the vehicle, the accused allegedly refused to do either. Guruprasad also threatened Ajay and allegedly used abusive language against him.The complainant later learnt that Guruprasad had approached several others in a similar manner, taking possession of their cars and documents on the promise of purchasing the vehicles and clearing their outstanding loans.According to an officer, Guruprasad obtained the contact details of car owners who advertised their vehicles for sale on OLX. He would then approach them, claiming that he would take responsibility for clearing the outstanding car loans and persuade them to hand over the vehicles.However, once the cars were in his possession, he allegedly sold them to unsuspecting buyers at heavily discounted prices without clearing the outstanding loans. Guruprasad is suspected of using the same modus operandi to cheat several people. Police have seized eight cars from him and are continuing their investigation.
