MUMBAI: The MRA Marg police have booked five men for alleged defraudment via fake websites that offered dealerships in multiple countries for electric vehicles manufactured by Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Limited (TPEML). The frauds charged hefty fees, running into several lakhs – purportedly towards processing dealership applications, and they continued cheating people by launching new websites at least thrice over the past year, after earlier websites were blocked on the company’s request, police officers familiar with the matter told Hindustan Times.
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Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Limited, a subsidiary of the Tata group-owned Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Limited (TMPVL), was formed in 2021, its official website at www.ev.tatamotors.com. On April 16, 2025, the company’s legal team was informed that a fake website – www.tataevdealership.com – was promising vehicle dealerships and collecting hefty sums towards various fees. The company sent a legal notice to the website operators and wrote to Go Daddy, where it was hosted, to block the site immediately. But in August, the alleged frauds launched a new website offering dealerships for Tata electric vehicles in India, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and the US.
In May 2026, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Limited came to know that a new website – www.tatadealership.in, bearing the photo of Ratan Tata – was again offering dealerships for electric vehicles and had even uploaded an application form. The company subsequently approached the police and lodged a written complaint, police said.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the company requested people to refrain from making any payments or deposits to the fraudulent websites or any similar platforms, and to refrain from sharing personal, financial, or sensitive information with such operators.
“TMPVL/TPEML confirms that this matter is being treated with the utmost seriousness. All available legal remedies, including criminal proceedings, are actively being pursued against the operators of such fraudulent platforms. Any infringement or misuse of Tata trademarks and brand identity shall be dealt with firmly and in accordance with applicable law,” the statement said.
The company thanked the Maharashtra Police for giving due attention to the matter, and said it was confident that their swift and thorough investigation would bring those responsible to justice.
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The first information report (FIR) – naming Keshab Kumar, Akash Bansal, Kunal Singh, Raju Manaskar and unknown others as accused – was registered based on a complaint by Prashant Murali, senior manager (legal), Tata Passenger Electric Mobility. They have been booked under sections 318 (cheating), 319 (cheating by personation), 336 (forgery), 338 (forgery of valuable securities, wills, and other important documents) and 340 (using forged documents or electronic records as genuine) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, police said.
Meanwhile, three fraud victims informed the company that they had been approached with dealership proposals and asked to pay advances towards processing applications. “The company then complained to National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI), and the fake domains were shut. But on February 25, 2026, another victim, Gurusevak Singh, informed them that the frauds had contacted him and asked him to pay ₹5.5 lakh as application fees and ₹7.75 lakh as franchise fee,” said a police officer, requesting anonymity.
