New Delhi [India], January 25 (ANI): Delhi Police have arrested the main accused in a vehicle fraud case that surfaced in 2023 and later led to the arrest and incarceration of a retired Army serviceman and his father. The arrest, carried out after sustained interstate operations, has led to the case being solved, police said in an official press release on Sunday.

The First Information Report (FIR) was filed under several IPC sections.

The accused has been identified as Hardeep Singh Randhawa. He was arrested at around 3.45 am on January 4 from village Bhopalpur under Police Station Gajraula in the Pilibhit district of Uttar Pradesh. Police said the arrest followed continuous raids in forested areas near the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, in the foothills of the Shivalik range, close to the Nepal border.

According to police, teams tracked the accused across more than 1,200 kilometres and carried out operations in difficult conditions, including 'dense forests with no mobile network, overflowing streams, severe cold with temperatures dropping to 1 degree Celsius and the risk of wild animal movement'. Randhawa had allegedly taken shelter in remote areas to evade arrest.

Police said Randhawa had been wanted by Uttar Pradesh Police for the past three years and was involved in four criminal cases, including attempted murder and offences under the Arms Act. He is also alleged to be associated with a local strongman and has a history of involvement in land-grabbing incidents involving open firing. Police said he used multiple hideouts across Punjab and Uttar Pradesh to remain absconding.

The case was registered on January 24, 2025, on the complaint of a retired serviceman who had started dealing in old vehicles after leaving the Army, officials said. According to the complaint, on February 8, 2023, a man identifying himself as Harpreet Singh Randhawa approached the complainant to sell a vehicle, claiming it was registered in the name of his brother, Hardeep Singh Randhawa.

On February 9, 2023, the complainant said both men came to his office in Sector 9, Dwarka, with the vehicle, and the deal was finalised for Rs 14.5 lakh. Payments were made in cash and through bank transfer, while a portion of the amount was withheld due to the absence of a state No Objection Certificate (NOC). The complainant also recorded a video of the transaction, police said.

The vehicle was later sold to a buyer in Punjab. On May 29, 2023, the buyer informed the complainant that the vehicle had an 'outstanding' loan in the name of Aslam Khan, the first owner. By then, both sellers were 'untraceable', police said, and their residence in Bareilly was found locked.

On September 21, 2024, the buyer, accompanied by Punjab Police, reached the complainant's shop. Following this, the complainant and his father were arrested in connection with an FIR related to the vehicle. They remained in judicial custody for about 70 days before settling the matter by paying the vehicle cost and other expenses.

During the investigation, Delhi Police found that the vehicle had originally been purchased in the name of Aslam Khan using forged documents, including a fake Aadhaar card with an altered photograph and address. Aslam Khan had also registered a separate FIR in Bareilly in 2023, in which Randhawa had been declared 'wanted'.

Non-bailable warrants were issued against both accused on December 22, 2025. During interrogation, the accused disclosed that his associate, Satender Pal Singh, had impersonated Harpreet Singh Randhawa to execute the fraud. Police said the accused conspired to sell vehicles by preparing fake bank NOCs and falsely showing loan clearance on the RTO online system. (ANI)