Pretending to take car for test drive, Bengaluru man steals SUV; arrested 100 days later

Naik, a resident of Bengaluru, stole an SUV belonging to Elluri, an engineer, under the pretext of test driving the car before purchasing it. They met on OLX as Elluri was trying to sell his car. Bengaluru Police arrested Naik after 100 days and after verifying 2,500 IP addresses.

Bengaluru Police arrested a 36-year-old businessman who, under the pretext of a test drive, stole a compact SUV belonging to an engineer. The theft had occurred on January 30 and the police finally nabbed him on May 10.

MG Venkatesh Naik, a resident of Amruthanagar in the city, was arrested for stealing a Maruti Vitara Brezza that belonged to Ravindra Elluri (47), a resident of Coffe Board Layout.

Bengaluru Police tracked down and arrested the man after verifying over 2,500 Internet Protocol (IP) addresses provided by the online platform OLX, reported The Times of India.

The victim, Elluri, had placed an advertisement on OLX in January to sell his car. Naik had contacted Elluri on January 30 and had expressed an interest in purchasing the car.

“When the two met, Naik asked for a test drive before making the purchase. Elluri handed him the keys, but Naik never returned with the car,” said the police.

Immediately, Elluri filed a complaint with the Amruthahalli police station. However, it was filed against an unknown person because he did not know Naik’s address at the time. Police initially tried to trace Naik through his mobile, but soon realised that he had stolen the phone on the same day too. Then, the police approached the offices of OLX and retrieved approximately 2,500 IP addresses used in searching for cars in Bengaluru.

One of the investigating officers said, “We verified the IP addresses for three months and our hunt bore fruit on May 10. We traced the vehicle to Dasarahalli main road and arrested Naik.”