Buying a used car in Mumbai? Speak to WIAA first

Manoj Dhomane (right) was sold this car which the seller later allegedly borrowed and did not return

The Western India Automobile Association (WIAA), Mumbai, will provide free guidance to people who are keen to buy second hand vehicles, especially due to cases of many buyers getting duped by scamsters in the COVID lockdown, using unique modus operandi.

Nitin Dossa, chairman of WIAA, the 101-year-old automobile association, said, "We realised that during the COVID-19 lockdown, many fraudsters used different modus operandi to dupe the innocent public. We have now learnt about a scam in second hand car deals, and hence are keen to provide assistance to people to ensure they don't fall in the trap of lucrative schemes or assurances from a dealer or individual. People can write to us on wiaa@wiaaindia.com or nitin.dossa@gmail.com".

'Will warn people'

Asked if WIAA was increasing its membership by introducing the service, Dossa said, "We have always been a non-profit organisation, working in the larger interest of road safety, and providing assistance to bridge the gap between the decision makers, the automobile industry and the end users. We will extend our knowledge sharing initiative to even non-members through our online portal. We will warn people of grey areas and even verify ownership, check documents before they decide on transferring their money, and guide them."

Manoj Dhomane, 31, was a second-hand vehicle buyer who was duped of the car and money. Dhomane had no reason to not trust Navinchand Mishra, who stayed in a fully furnished rented flat, next to his building at Thane. Manoj's elder brother was also a neighbour of Mishra, who desired to sell his three-year-old four-wheeler at a reasonable price. Dhomane bought the second-hand four-wheeler (MH-04-HX-6655) for Rs 1.63 lakh, which included the charges for transfer of papers from the RTO, which were paid before the lockdown. However, due to lockdown, the RTO offices were impacted and the papers were never processed.

'Both seller and car missing'

According to Dhomane, "In June, 2020, Mishra took the car for a few days, as he wanted to take his relative back to his hometown in Uttar Pradesh. He also took Rs 18,000, against a high-end mobile phone that I was keen to buy from him. But since then, Mishra and the vehicle are both missing. He has stopped answering my calls."

He added, "I complained to Kasarvadavli police in Thane against Mishra. But the police said since I have no papers to claim ownership of the vehicle, they cannot take action by registering an FIR. I have now learnt Mishra has duped many more people in our area, by making similar claims of selling vehicles. He did not pay the rent for six months and duped the flat owner too."

Dossa said, "The police should immediately register a FIR. The accused has smartly operated bank accounts and stayed in a rented apartment to evade being tracked. The police cannot shed their responsibility stating the victim has no papers to establish the ownership over the vehicle."

Senior criminal lawyer Dinesh Tiwari said, "The Supreme Court's directives state that if prima facie a case is made out, then police are bound to register an FIR. Police try to avoid registering an FIR. This is an apt case for an FIR, using Sections 420 (cheating) and 406 (criminal breach of Trust) of IPC. The complainant can approach the magistrate court u/s 156 of Criminal Procedure Court for directing the police to register the FIR, but this will take time."