Police officers said the accused, Ashwani Sisodia (22), alias Ramesh, a native of Basti (UP), duped people by taking them to various police stations in North Delhi and showing them seized vehicles. The police said he would strike a deal with them and take some money in advance and then disappear.

According to police officers, on December 26 one Jaswar Singh told the police that at Wazirpur a uniformed constable asked him to stop and give him a lift on his motorcycle. “Ramesh struck up a conversation with Singh and gave him his mobile number, saying he could contact him for buying seized vehicles,” a senior police officer said.

According to the police, Ramesh took Singh to the Ashok Vihar police station on December 28 and showed him some seized vehicles. Singh selected an Indica and Ramesh told him to go to the Kotwali police station for completing the formalities. The police said that Singh waited outside with his friend while Ramesh went inside with Singh’s ID proof and Rs 30,000 before allegedly escaping from the back gate.

“After this complaint was registered, a dossier of cheats was consulted and on the basis of modus operandi, Ramesh was identified. He was subsequently arrested,” a police officer said.