The Navi Mumbai Police’s Economic Offence Wing (EOW), Zone 1, helped 11 Kawasaki superbike customers get their bikes after they were cheated by a dealer in Seawoods.
According to the police, Satyen Karandikar opened his Kawasaki dealership, SNK Palm Beach, in 2015. This, they said, was the first dealership awarded by the Japanese automaker in Mumbai. However, after accepting payments from customers, Mr. Karandikar delayed delivery saying it would be done soon.
When they did not get their bikes even after nearly four months, the customers approached the Kawasaki India head office in New Delhi. “Kawasaki officials said Mr. Karandikar had not made payments to them, hence they are not liable to deliver the bikes. They also issued a public notice terminating the dealership of SNK Palm Beach,” DCP (Zone 1), Navi Mumbai, Dilip Sawant said.
Unable to get any help from the head office, the customers then approached Navi Mumbai Commissioner of Police Hemant Nagrale. “We held meetings with Kawasaki officials and made them understand their responsibility towards the customers. For the sake of the company’s goodwill, they agreed to deliver the bikes to the customers,” Mr. Nagrale said.
The bikes delivered include Kawasaki Z800, ZX-14R, Ninja ZX-10R and Versys, the prices of which ranged from Rs. 3.5 lakh to Rs. 16 lakh. In all, bikes worth Rs. 1.18 crore were delivered to the 11 customers. “Initially, the victims were the customers. Now, it’s the company. They have delivered the bikes without receiving any payment. Kawasaki will now register a case against Mr. Karandikar at NRI Coastal Police Station, after which we will investigate further,” Senior PI Shivaji Awate, EOW (Zone 1) said.
The writer is a freelance journalist
The bikes include Kawasaki Z800, ZX-14R, Ninja ZX-10R and Versys, costing Rs. 3.5 lakh to Rs. 16 lakh
Navi Mumbai Police
