17 from Mumbai, Pune duped of Rs 5.6 lakh by 'tour operator'

MUMBAI: A total of 17 residents from Mumbai and Pune were duped of Rs 5.6 lakh collectively by a tour operator who offered them an attractive holiday package to Leh-Ladakh. The Goregaon Police have registered an FIR under IPC and IT Act.
The complainant in the case is a 32-year-old woman from Goregaon who is employed with a private firm. Earlier in May, when she and her family members were planning a monsoon vacation, she went online and started to search for holiday tour packages for July.She found an advertisement of a travel agency and dialled the contact number mentioned on it. She was connected to the agency's owner who offered her an attractive package for Leh-Ladakh. Pleased with the offer, the woman called up her relatives in Pune and requested them to join her and her family for the vacation. Total 17 people from both the cities decided to go for the trip.
A WhatsApp group was created to plan the vacation and all 17 of them were added to the group, besides the tour operator. "On May 14, the tour operator asked for an advance and also sent a schedule for future payments to be made," said a police officer.
On May 25, the tour operator shared a QR code on the WhatsApp group after which an initial amount of Rs 37,800 was transferred by the complainant for flight tickets. Thereafter, payments were made on June 8 and July 4 as instructed by the tour operator. He also shared copies of flight tickets and hotel reservation vouchers on WhatsApp group.
By July 17, the complainant and her Pune-based relatives had transferred a sum of Rs 5.6 lakh collectively online to the tour operator.
But the next day onward, the tour operator's phone was switched off. The complainant sensed something amiss and decided to verify the flight tickets and hotel reservation vouchers.
It turned out that all the documents were fake. The flight PNR numbers were bogus and the hotel management said that they had received no such bookings. The woman then approached the Goregaon police on July 25 and lodged a complaint. The police have kept the identity of the tour operator confidential as he is yet to be found. TOI found that the travel agency's web portal has testimonials from people who have taken trips with them to Leh-Ladakh. The police will also verify if these are even genuine.