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Car mechanics posing as Samaritans cheating motorists on Lake road in a smart modus-operandi. A dozen locals conned so far. Be on the lookout!

For the last two three weeks or so there has been new racket going on the road between L&T’s Saki Vihar road via the ADS Marg upto the Kanjur railway over-bridge. While you are driving, some roadside pedestrian will point towards your car saying something. First you ignore, thinking that he might be pointing something toward some one else. Hardly, have you driven some 100 metres, another roadside pedestrian points towards your car saying something.

You get cautioned and stop to ask him what is wrong, he says, “Aap ki car se dhooan nikal raha hai.” In case you ignore and proceed, there are chances another pedestrian will again psyche you saying the same thing. In all probability, when you stop to check when this guy volunteers to help you introducing himself as a car mechanic and asks you to open the bonnet. The moment the bonnet is opened he pulls out one of the spark plug wire, which emanates some smoke and a strange sound making you believe that something is wrong and the car needs to be urgently repaired with its coil, ignition or the alternator.

He assures to help you out in the middle of the road and take immediate action by calling someone on his . His friend or team member comes with the required spare part within no time. You hardly get any reaction time to ponder about their scrupulous ways. Raj of Shyamal Motors at Bhandup is aware of similar rackets in other parts of Mumbai says, “They pullout the original part and replace with some cheap spurious spare. Having changed the part and started the car they win your confidence. Then comes, the roadside charge, something like Rs 2000 to Rs 8000 depending whom they targeted and what part was replaced. Commuters have gone to ATM and paid cash to these conmen in the middle of night.”

Chances are that some of you may have been been conned like this in Powai or elsewhere. Another regular commuter on this road, Praveen Panchal who was driving his Alto on the Saki Vihar road a fortnight back came across a similar instance where he was stopped by these mechanics posing as Samaritans and got his ignition replaced by these racketeers. He dished out some Rs1800 on the spot for the help offered. It was later, when the roadside replaced coil in his new Alto malfunctioned, he learnt at the garage that it was not an original part. When he narrated the incident of the help offered by the roadside boys to the garage manager, he realized of the racket and being conned.

This reporter spotted a similar case when roadside mechanics were helping out two car owners with their bonnet open near the IIT flyover at Gandhinagar. When we approached to take their pictures, they abused us and vanished on their bikes. When we asked the motorists, they said, “We were caught in the peak hour traffic from the Eastern Express side, these boys said that smoke was coming out from our cars. We could get some clutch burning smell; we doubted and stopped the car. Hardly, we had opened the bonnet to check by these boys, that you arrived and they fled.”

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India is really shining......So be aware while driving on above mentioned routes.