Mumbai: Gang uses 'there's a spark in your bonnet' line to loot motorists

If someone signals you to stop your car and tells you sparks are flying off the bonnet ignore him and drive on In all likelihood he is part of a gang operating in the city which has been fleecing unsuspecting motorists by telling them their cars are emitting sparks and taking them to a mechanic who pretends to solve the lsquoproblemrsquo and charges atrocious amounts for the serviceFour such cases have been reported to this paper last month and this gang has been active in various parts of Mumbai Car service centres also claim there is a remarkable increase in the number of such cases The modus operandi goes like this Three to four gang members position themselves half a km from each other and stay in touch over the phoneAt a traffic signal or a speed breaker where vehicles are likely to slow down the first man motions to the motorist to stop and tells himher that sparks are flying off the vehiclersquos bonnet If the driver ignores that lsquowarningrsquo the second person on the stretch repeats the tactic By the time the car reaches the third person the driver usually believes it and stopsOnce he falls for the hoax he is taken to a mechanic overcharged for the lsquorepairsrsquo Police have already put their men on the job of identifying and nabbing the gang members According to the police if this gang is not dealt with at this initial stage it could pose a potential threat to women travelling alone in the cityCase one Roshan Jaiswal 30Spot Santacruz end of SantacruzChembur Link RoadAmount paid Rs 5000A professor with a Bandrabased college Roshan Jaiswal 30 was rushing to reach the institute at 7 am on February 25 The Kurla resident had just exited the the SantacruzChembur Link Road on the Santacruz end when the gang struck ldquoI was getting late and at the first speed breaker there was a man who pointed out that there were sparks coming out of my car I did not notice anything of that sortFurther ahead another man at another speed breaker told me the same thing I was a little worried by then and parked my car a short distance ahead Another man who claimed to be a driver approached me and said there was a serious problem in my car and that he would get a mechanic to repair it immediatelyrdquo Jaiswal told middayThe purported mechanic who called himself Aftab Sheikh came and started lsquoworkingrsquo on the carrsquos problem Jaiswal was asked to sit in the car and press the clutch till the repairs were done ldquoI realised later that he had done nothing and there were no sparks They told me to pay Rs 5000 and even took me to an ATM from where I paid the moneyI was getting calls from my students and was in a hurry to reach Hence I paid uprdquo he added Jaiswal said it all happened in such a short span that he ldquodidnrsquot realise what was happeningrdquo and he felt he was ldquopartially hypnotisedrdquo The gang gave him a phone number where he could call for help but the number was switched offWhen Jaiswal went to a car showroom in the area they narrated the whole incident to him before he could tell them what had happened ldquoThis is very serious If a woman is driving alone she will panic and these people can do anythingrdquo said the professorCase two Mohan Jadhav 53Spot Mankhurd signal Eastern Express HighwayAmount paid Rs 10000A month ago the Bandra resident left for an urgent meeting to Uran At the Mankhurd signal on the Eastern Express Highway a person approached him ldquoThe man came to me and told me sparks were flying off my car I got scared and parked the car immediatelyrdquo he recalled Like in Jaiswalrsquos case a mechanic showed up and asked Jadhav to sit in the car and press the clutchAfter the lsquoworkrsquo was done they demanded Rs 10000 ldquoI usually keep some amount in my car for safety and I gave it to themrdquo he said adding ldquoThey were very professional and smart Due to this gang a person driving alone wonrsquot stop the car even if there really are sparks This is very serious they could have even attacked merdquoCase three Abhishek Singh 38Spot Linking Road KharAmount paid Rs 1000038yearold Singh a nutritionist and fitness expert from Lokhandwala was fleeced two weeks ago when he was rushing for an appointment in south Mumbai ldquoMine was the first car near the stop line at a signal on Linking Road in Khar A person approached and said he could see sparks flying off my carTwo signals ahead another person said the same thing I got a little worried and thought of stopping even though I was getting late for workrdquo Singh said Soon a third person posing as a driver told him ldquonot to waste time and get the problem fixed by a mechanicrdquo The socalled mechanic repeated his act ldquoHe told me he had to buy some parts from the storeHe went and bought some things and asked me to sit in the car and press the clutchrdquo Singh recalled The accused almost got caught here as Singhrsquos car is an automatic Improvising he told Singh to press the brake Later he demanded Rs 10000 for the lsquojobrsquo When Singh asked for an invoice or a bill he said it would be delivered to his office and gave him a phone numberldquoThat number has been switched off since thenrdquo the victim said Singh asserted that the gang is very convincing ldquoThe first guy spoke in Marathi and the other in Bengali They were so convincing that even smart guys wouldnrsquot be able to call their bluff This is a very serious crime They can grope women and do anything Itrsquos like they partially hypnotise yourdquo