Travel firm booked for duping family of former DCP

The family went to Bangkok and found that there was no booking on their name. Their return tickets were also cancelled

Mumbai: The police booked a travel company on Saturday for allegedly cheating the son and daughter-in-law of a former deputy commissioner of police by producing fake confirmation receipts of hotel bookings in Bangkok. The couple were duped of ₹1.64 lakh. The fraud came to light when the couple went to Bangkok along with their children and discovered that they had no bookings on their name.

Travel firm booked for duping family of former DCP

Former DCP, Ambadas Pote’s elder son, Atul Pote, and his wife, Chitragandha Pote, had planned a trip to Bangkok with their children. They searched online for a travel company that would offer travel packages and came across a company named Kenil Travels. The company provided a ₹2 lakh package for a family of four. The couple chose the company as the rates were affordable.

The police said that on April 7, Chitragandha transferred ₹88,000 for the flight tickets and made the rest of the payment on April 21 after which, the travel company sent a receipt to Chitragandha on WhatsApp confirming their accomodation in Pullman Pattaya hotel in Bangkok. The police said that on May 17, the family went to Bangkok and found that there was no booking in their name in Pullman Pattaya hotel. They realised that the company had sent them a fake confirmation receipt. By then, their return tickets had also been cancelled by the travel company. The owner of Kenil travels, Akhilesh Singh, switched off his phone and couldn’t be contacted, said a police officer.

The family then booked another hotel in Bangkok and also their return tickets to India.

After the family returned, Ambadas filed a complaint on the Cyber Police helpline against the travel company. The case was transferred to MHB police on Saturday and a case has been registered against Singh for cheating under sections 318 (4), 319 (2) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and cyber crime sections 66 (c) and 66 (d) of the Information Technology Act.