Mumbai: Two arrested for cheating travel agent on pretext of giving Char Dham yatra tickets

The police identified the accused as Rohit Bhardwaj (L) and Robert David (R)

Pant Nagar police have arrested two persons for cheating a 60-year-old travel agent of Rs nine lakh on the pretext of giving Char Dham pilgrimage tickets. The accused has a travel company that incurred heavy losses during the pandemic.

In March 2022, 60-year-old Pushpa Patel, a travel agent, received a call from a local resident asking whether she can arrange tickets for the Char Dham pilgrimage in Uttarakhand for six persons at a cheaper rate as other agents are charging more than Rs two lakh per person. Patel searched and found one company named Mahadev Tours and Travels. She provided her mobile number on the website and received a call from a person identifying himself as Rajiv Jain.

She was told the package for Char Dham by helicopter would cost Rs 1.75 lakh per person and she will get Rs 6,000 as commission per booking. Patel was forced by Jain to pay the total of Rs nine lakh as soon as possible. Patel paid money in installments from April 30 to May 17 and demanded a receipt for the same from Jain, who told her he will share it soon. Patel told him, he is coming on May 20 to Dehradun and she will take the receipt by hand.

When Patel went to Dehradun on May 20, she did not find any person receiving her and mobile number of Jain was also switched off. Patel rushed to Dehradun police station and narrated the incident, she was asked to register a complaint with Pant Nagar police station. An FIR was registered against a person named Rajiv Jain.

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Senior Inspector Ravidutt Sawant directed Inspector Kalpana Jadhav to conduct an inquiry. A team led by Sub Inspector Swapnil Salunkhe, Constable Santosh Gidh, Rupesh Rathod and Ramesh Pawar was deputed to investigate the fraud.

"During the technical analysis, we found that the person who spoke with Patel is located in Dehradun, we rushed to Uttarakhand and with the help of local police one person named Robert David (38) was arrested. But during interrogation, David told us that he is been asked by Rohit Bhardwaj (41) to carry out such fraud," said PSI Swapnil Salunkhe.

Bhardwaj has a tours and travels company that incurred heavy losses during the pandemic. To recover from the loss he chose to defraud people who wish to visit Char Dham with the help of Robert.

"We have arrested two accused in connection with the offence and have recovered Rs one lakh from them. Both have done fraud one time to get some capital to restart the business. Both have been sent in judicial custody," said Ravidatta Sawant, senior inspector, Pant Nagar police station.

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