Man held for pledging rented SUV, issuing death threats to owner in Chennai

CHENNAI: City police arrested a 27-year-old man from Tirunelveli for taking a car on rent from a firm in Tiruvottiyur and later pledging it for a loan. Police said the accused’s accomplices also issued death threats to the car rental firm owner.

Tiruvottiyur police began investigations based on a complaint from Gowtham (40) of Mallikapuram, Kaladipet, who runs a rental car business. The accused, Hariharan, had befriended Gowtham and regularly hired cars from him. After gaining his trust, he rented a Grand Vitara SUV in April this year, claiming he needed it for six days.

However, the vehicle was never returned. Using GPS, Gowtham tracked it to Vellore, where police later discovered that Hariharan had pledged the SUV to secure a Rs 5 lakh loan. Soon after, Gowtham began receiving threatening calls, warning him to forget the car.

Based on his complaint, Thiruvottiyur police registered a case and launched a search. On Friday, a police team arrested Hariharan of Sankar Nagar, Tirunelveli. He was produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.