Bengaluru: Two electric vehicle companies have allegedly cheated several people by offering electric two-wheelers at subsidised prices under the guise of a Prime Minister scheme. Police have arrested two persons.The arrested are identified as Hanumantha Bilkar, owner of Bilkar Technologies in Ramaiah Layout, Nagasandra; and Rakesh, owner of Appke EV in Peenya. According to police, two complaints were registered against the companies on Feb 11 and Feb 23 at Peenya police station and Bagalagunte police station, respectively. DCP (north-west) DL Nagesh said the accused in both cases sold two-wheelers by arranging loans in the buyers’ names that were credited to their companies. They allegedly got loans sanctioned for nearly double the price of the vehicle and told buyers that they only needed to pay the last three to four EMIs, while the companies would pay the remaining instalments. Initially, the companies paid the EMIs, but later stopped doing so, leaving buyers to face demands from banks and finance firms. A senior officer said the companies procured parts of electric two-wheelers from Delhi, assembled them in Bengaluru, and sold them through their showrooms. One of the victims, Smruthi, 38, a resident of Chokkasandra, told Peenya police that she visited the Appke showroom in Nov last year. Staff allegedly told her that she could buy an EV at a subsidised price under a PM scheme. They said the vehicle cost Rs 70,000, and she needed to pay only Rs 25,000 as a deposit, while the remaining amount would be arranged as a bank loan, with the company promising to pay the EMIs. They also told her that once the loan amount was cleared, the subsidy amount would be credited to her account. Smruthi paid the deposit, but the showroom did not issue a receipt. Staff assured delivery of the vehicle within seven days. However, the vehicle was never delivered. When she later met Rakesh and Hanumantha, she learnt that a loan of about Rs 1.4 lakh had already been taken in her name and Rs 5,463 was being debited from her account every month. When she approached the bank (Kotak Mahindra), she alleged that the staff did not provide proper information about the loan. In the other complaint filed, P Ramesh, 48, a resident of Doddabidarakallu, told police that he approached the Bilkar showroom in Dec last year. The accused, including Hanumantha, Rakesh, and others, allegedly offered him an EV at a subsidised price and asked him to deposit Rs 13,000 for a vehicle priced at Rs 70,000. They took Rs 1 lakh loan in his name from an online loan app (Zype). The accused did not deliver the vehicle, and Ramesh soon began receiving calls from the finance firm asking him to pay the EMI. A senior officer said the accused had taken loans in the names of around 900 people. Vehicles were delivered to many of them, but the companies allegedly stopped paying the EMIs as promised.
