Posing as buyer, man drives away with engineering student's bike

Coimbatore: A fraudster expresses 'fake' interest in purchasing a college student's bike and drives away with the vehicle.
The college student had posted an advertisement online to sell his bike. He was approached by the culprit who posed as a prospective buyer. The student handed him the keys for a test drive but when the student went to answer nature's call, he drove away with the bike.
A Manivel, 21, from Erode, was studying final year engineering in a private college located on L&T bypass road near Chinniyampalayam. He had advertised on the OLX website that he wanted to sell his Honda CBR 250 motor cycle.
At 7pm on February 15, someone called Manivel, posing as a prospective buyer. He mentioned that he would like to take the vehicle for a test drive before he purchased it. Trusting him, Manivel asked the caller to meet him in front of Sakthi Engineering College. Manivel then gave him the keys for a test drive.
When Manivel went to attend nature's call round the corner, the unidentified person drove away with the motorcycle. He had told Manivel that his name was Iyappan. Immediately, Manivel alerted his friends and tried to trace the race bike but in vain.
He approached Singanallur police who told Manivel that the crime took place under Sulur jurisdiction. He was advised to approach the rural police.
However, five days later, Manivel lodged a complaint with Singanallur police who registered a case under section 379 (theft) of the Indian Penal Code.
Police said that they are still trying to trace the fraudster and have alerted the neighbouring police stations to help resolve the case soon.