Thief puts up bike for sale on same site he stole it from

Mumbai: For Qayyum Khan, the Internet seemed like a smart way of selling his bike. But, little did he know that trying to sell his bike on a popular e-commerce website would end up being a nightmare. A conman stole his bike on the pretext of taking a test ride and later placed the same bike on sale on the same e-commerce portal. He was nabbed seven days later.

Qayyum Khan had registered a complaint with the Shivaji Nagar police, stating that on May 19 Parvez Khan met him with an intent to purchase his bike that was advertised on a popular website for an asking price of Rs 30,000. When they met to finalise the deal, Parvez, on the pretext of taking a test drive, fled with the bike.

Silly mistake
The con went well so far, but Parvez slipped up when he put the bike for sale on the same website. About a week later, the police pretending to be prospective buyers landed at his doorstep and nabbed him. The accused 25-year-old accused is a habitual offender who has a series of cases registered against him at various police stations. "On May 26, two days before Parvez's marriage, we managed to pick him up from his residence in Santacruz," said Radhesham Agarwal, senior police inspector from Shivaji Nagar (Govandi).

Show-off
According to cops, on the day of the deal, Parvez met Qayyum and flaunted Rs 30,000 in cash, showing his purposeful intention of buying the bike. Parvez then faked a conversation with his mother on his mobile phone, and soon after hanging up told Qayyum that his mother asked him to test ride the bike. Qayyum was swayed by his confidence and offered the bike for a test drive. "Qayyum just stood there standing, watching his bike speed away," said a cop. Qayyum then approached the Shivaji Nagar police station and registered a complaint.

Decoy customer
"After Parvez stole the bike, he put it up for sale on the same website. One of our constables posed as a customer, and with the help of a mobile tracing software, we arrested him," said a police officer. He was produced in court and has been remanded to police custody till June 1.