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Tours and travel company owner booked for duping bizman of ₹1.57 crore
Malad police have registered a case against Tejas Shah of Poorva Tours and Travels for defrauding a client of ₹1.57 crore, the second cheating case in two months.
Mumbai: The Malad police on Monday registered a case against the owner of Poorva Tours and Travels, Tejas Shah, for allegedly defrauding a client of ₹1.57 crore. This marks the second cheating case against Shah within two months, following a similar incident involving a vice president of an advertising company who was promised a family trip to Australia and New Zealand.
The Malad police reported that the complainant, Vijay Kumar Devendra Jain, 54, initially booked a tour to Ladakh with his family through Poorva Tours and Travels in 2022. Subsequently, he developed a close relationship with Shah, meeting him frequently. On April 11, 2024, Shah sent Jain an advertisement for a 10-night trip to Australia and New Zealand. Jain made the payment for the trip and received an email from Shah confirming receipt, with only ₹50,000 outstanding.
Jain replied to the email and met Shah three days later. During their meeting, Shah asked Jain for ₹1.57 crore to help his business, promising post-dated cheques for monthly payments and to cover Jain’s trip expenses. Trusting Shah, Jain gave him the money and accepted all the cheques.
“All the cheques that Shah gave me, bounced and on confronting him, he kept telling me to deposit the cheque again as he had the balance in his account, but they never encashed,” said Jain. When he realised that he was cheated, he approached the police and found out that Shah was arrested by the Kandivali police in May this year and was remanded in judicial custody.
“We have booked Shah under Sections 420 (cheating) and 406 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code and will soon arrest him,” said a police officer from the Malad police station.
Earlier on May 5, Shah was arrested by the Kandivali police for defrauding a family of ₹20 lakh, promising to arrange a trip to South Africa. The complainant, Jaisal Devendra Shah, 46, approached Purva Holidays after spotting their advertisement in December 2023. Seeking a travel agency accommodating Jain food requirements for their 12-day trip, the family paid ₹20 lakh to the agency on December 12, 2023. However, in March 2024, Shah’s evasion of inquiries regarding tickets and procedures prompted suspicion. Upon personal confrontation in April, Shah assured reimbursement, citing difficulties in booking the trip. Realising Shah’s deception, the complainant filed an FIR against him.
