US trip: 67 school students in Barnala accuse pvt tour operator of duping them of ₹1 lakh each

The principal of Sacred Heart Convent School, Raikot Road, has lodged a complaint with the senior superintendent of police Harjeet Singh against private tour operator,

The principal of Sacred Heart Convent School, Raikot Road, has lodged a complaint with the senior superintendent of police Harjeet Singh against private tour operator, Starico, New Delhi, for not refunding ₹67 lakh, ₹1 lakh each to 67 of its students, for a 11-day educational trip to the US that never materialised. The money was deposited last year.

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The trip was cancelled after the US embassy did not grant these students a visa in June, after a group interview. The school, managed by Mangalore-based Bethany Educational Society, had planned the trip for students of Classes 7-12, to NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and other cities.

School principal Sr Lyra Lasrado said, “Starico director, Manmohan, gave us an affidavit that if the embassy rejected the visa, they would deduct only ₹25,000 per student. Each student had paid ₹1.5 lakh, but was refunded only ₹25,000. So, a refund of ₹1 lakh is still pending.”

Sunil Kumar Jindal, father of one of the students awaiting refund, said, “Starico distributed pamphlets claiming that it is a well-known brand in worldwide tourism for students. We paid the first instalment to him in October 2018. Now, we have found that his company, M/s Starico Pvt Ltd, was registered only in June 2018. He made exaggerated claims to cheat us.”

“We have summoned Manmohan Singh twice. He will appear before us on October 3 (Thursday) to join investigation,” said DSP Rajesh Kumar. “The police are conducting a thorough probe,” said Barnala deputy commissioner, Tej Partap Singh Phoolka. “We deal with hundreds of schools. In the matter of Sacred Heart School, our PR department will respond appropriately to you,” said Manmohan, when contacted over phone.