'Why should I buy a car from a thief?'

Bharati Dubey

Amar Upadhyay, heart-throb of millions of television viewers, is in the news again.

This time for allegedly buying a car from a car thief.

Although Amar agrees to buying the car from Paresh Parekh -- the man who has sold not less than 71 robbed cars -- the actor is quick to clarify, "My papers are cleared. Gafoor Syyed, an RTO head clerk, was the official who cleared them. The car is registered in my name. It is over 25 days since the incident has come to light. But no one has approached me yet."

When asked where and when he met Paresh Parekh, Upadhyay replies, "I was introduced to him by Sodhi, who works with Balaji Telefilms."

"I am not the only one who has bought a car from Parekh. Jaya Bhattacharya, my co-actor in Kyon Ki Saans Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, has purchased a Tata Safari from Parekh. Kanu Gill, too, has bought a Santro from the man."

An annoyed and angry Upadhyay is all set to sue some publications for misreporting. Says he, "How can they say that I bought a chori ka car? Let my name get cleared first. I plan to those newspapers. As if I knew that the man was a car thief!"

Coming back to Parekh, Upadhyay reveals, "Parekh used to take all the buyers to Bachar Motors at Worli and show them the cars. I am sure that showroom owner too is involved in this whole racket."

"You know I bought a Hyundai Accent, not a Santro as has been reported in the media. The car's market price is Rs 7 lakh and I got it at Rs 5.75 lakh. It was just one month old. Why should I buy a car from a thief? If I can donate the Rs 12 lakh (which I won in KBC) to a cancer society , cant I buy a car?" he adds, indignantly.

Actor Sunil Shetty's secretary, Bhaskar Shetty, too, features on the list of buyers. "Shetty is so annoyed with Parekh, if he finds him he will definitely bash him up!" Upadhyay says, in all seriousness.

Meanwhile, Amar Upadhyay's venture into the big screen is earning him good films. "I have just signed J P Dutta's Kargil," he discloses.