Bengaluru, May 29: The Bengaluru police have arrested a 27-year-old engineer who used to order expensive cameras and lenses on rent from online portals and sell them on other portals after posting advertisements.
The Sampigehalli police arrested Karthik Addagarla of Visakhapatnam and have seized cameras and zoom lenses worth Rs 12 lakh from him. The police also learnt that Addagarla was an inter-state fraud who committed crimes in a similar manner in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Delhi.
On March 21, 2018, one of his victims Lohit Sontaki, approached the Sampigehalli police and alleged that his camera worth Rs 2.76 lakh and a zoom lens worth Rs 1.38 lakh were taken on rent by Addagarla through an online rental portal rentshare.com. When Sontaki questioned him about not returning the gadgets even after the stipulated time, Addagarla started giving lame excuses. Sontaki filed a complaint and the police initiated the investigation.
The police found out that Addagarla, after taking the gadgets on rent, sold them on the OLX portal. The police also learnt that he had cases registered against him at the Mumbai West police station in Maharashtra and Howrah police station in West Bengal.
The police then seized cameras and lenses worth Rs 12.03 lakh from him. He had sold these to many people in Bengaluru.
The police said though Addagarla was an engineering graduate, he was unemployed since 2013 and got addicted to gambling. He then started committing fraud using the above modus operandi and used the ill-gotten money to indulge in vices and lead a lavish lifestyle.
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