Greater Noida Police on Wednesday arrested a man on charges of lifting vehicles of people after befriending them. The accused Kapil Verma, who claims to be a doctor, was among two people arrested in Greater Noida for vehicle thefts.

According to a senior police official, the accused Kapil Verma has been involved in at least three such cases where he has tricked people into lending their cars to him for some time and within days, the vehicles went missing.

"Verma is a native of Baghpat district, while his associate Rahul Sharma hails from Ghaziabad. Both were arrested around 12.05 am on Wednesday in Greater Noida," said the senior police official adding that two of the stolen cars, a Maruti Swift and a Maruti Brezza, were seized from them along with a fake number plate on one of them.

Explaining the modus operandi of the accused, Vineet Jaiswal, Superintendent of Police, Grater Noida, said that the accused used to get in touch with people and befriend them. "Eventually he would ask for their vehicle for a day or for some time on some or the other pretext. He would then get a duplicate key made for the car and also get a GPS tracker installed in it," said the SP.

"Verma's accomplice Rahul Sharma provided him with the duplicate keys and tracked the car using the GPS and would lift it at any opportune time after Verma returned the vehicle to its owners," said the SP.

"He claims to be a doctor, a visiting doctor at a private hospital in Greater Noida, but we are verifying his claims. His degree and work profile, whether they are true. At least three such cases of have come to light and the matter is being investigated further," said the SP.

"A case has been registered against the two at Kasna Police station under Indian Penal Code sections 379 (theft), 420 (fraud), 482 (using false property mark), and related offences," said a police official.