The Commissionerate police here have detained a couple from Aska in Ganjam district for duping over 100 people of Rs 40 crore after promising them to give new cars.
The accused were identified as Akshay Gouda and his wife Usharani G who were running a used car showroom named Maa Pattakhanda Automobiles in Bhubaneswar.
As per reports, they advertised on social media platforms and offered new cars at a 50-per cent discount on the market price. Upon inquiry, the fraudsters showed fake agreements with several car showrooms in the capital city to sell their cars under ‘clearance sale’.
They asked customers to deposit a token amount of Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 as advance to get cars at half price of the market rate. Initially, they gave new cars to some customers with high discount to build confidence among buyers.
Later, they fled by duping people over Rs 40 crore in the market. The victims of the fraud have lodged several complaints at the Nayapalli, Khandagiri, Laxmisagar, Badagada and Capital police stations in the city.
The couple’s another associate named Sivaran Gouda is still at large. Police said they were carrying out investigations and were on the lookout for Sivaram.
