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Bengaluru: A one-day trip to Madikeri turned into a traumatic ordeal for five college students from Bengaluru after a self-drive car rental agency accused them of repeatedly exceeding the speed limit, assaulted them, and extorted ₹50,000 and a laptop. Police have since arrested three individuals—Vinod, Shashank, and Nithin—in connection with the incident.
Manoj (name changed), a fifth-semester BBA student from Mathikere, lodged a complaint with the Chandra Layout police following the harrowing experience. According to the complaint, Manoj and his four friends had planned a quick getaway to Madikeri on Sunday, November 17, according to a report by TOI.
Rental car booking turns into extortion
On the evening of November 16, Manoj contacted a phone number to arrange for a rental vehicle. The call was answered by Pratham, also known as Appu, who redirected him to Vinod. Vinod informed Manoj that the daily rental for a Kia Sonet would be ₹2,500, along with a ₹500 commission fee. Manoj paid the commission via a digital payment app to secure the booking.
Vinod then shared the contact details of Nithin, who provided the location to collect the car. When Manoj and his friend Kiran(name changed) picked up the vehicle, Nithin warned them that any instance of exceeding the 100 km/hr speed limit would incur a fine of ₹1,200 per violation. As collateral, Nithin took Manoj's laptop.
The group departed for Madikeri at 2 am on Sunday and returned to Bengaluru by 6 pm the same day. They met Vinod at 80 Feet Road in Chandra Layout to return the car. Vinod instructed Manoj and his friend Prem to accompany him to an office named Manjunath Enterprises in Maruthinagar, Nagarabhavi, to inspect the vehicle’s condition.
Allegations of speeding and threats
At the office, where four others including Shashank were present, the group was accused of exceeding the speed limit 120 times and asked to pay a fine of ₹1.2 lakh. When Manoj requested proof, the accused provided screenshots of only three instances of overspeeding and refused to substantiate the rest.
The situation escalated when Nithin and another man joined the group, locking Manoj and Prem inside the office. The accused threatened them with a knife and physically assaulted Manoj. Under duress, Manoj contacted his sister and friends, borrowing ₹35,000 to pay the gang.
One of the accused took Manoj to a mobile shop, forcing him to transfer ₹35,000 via a QR code. Later, Prem was also coerced into transferring ₹15,000 at the same shop. Despite borrowing an additional ₹25,000, Manoj was unable to complete another payment as the transaction failed.
Continued harassment and police intervention
The accused summoned Manoj's three other friends to the spot and issued death threats. They released the four friends around 10:30 pm but continued harassing Manoj until 11:30 pm. The gang even drove Manoj to his residence in another SUV, warning him against filing a police complaint.
The ordeal didn’t end there. Around 12:40 am, the gang called Manoj, demanding another ₹25,000 through a digital payment app, but the transaction failed again. Shaken by the threats, Manoj confided in his uncle and reported the incident to the Chandra Layout police on November 18.
Arrests and recovery
Following the complaint, the police arrested Vinod, Shashank, and Nithin. They also recovered ₹30,000 and Manoj's laptop. The suspects were charged under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for voluntary causing hurt (Section 115), wrongful confinement (Section 127), extortion (Section 308), and criminal intimidation (Section 351).
A senior police officer revealed that the students had exceeded the speed limit only three times, contrary to the gang's exaggerated claims. “The accused fabricated violations to extort money,” the officer stated.
Efforts are underway to apprehend the two other individuals involved in the crime.
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