Mumbai-based tour operator dupes 64 senior citizens from Delhi of ₹18 lakh for Dubai trip

The tour operator called off the trip just a week prior to the scheduled date, saying the money paid for each individual was not enough and promised refund but didn’t despite repeated reminders.

The Delhi Police on Wednesday said they had arrested a 35-year-old tour operator from Mumbai for allegedly cheating 64 senior citizens from Delhi of around ₹18 lakh they had paid for a group trip to Dubai.

Police said Nrupathy Shivajirao Manay, owner of Mumbai-based Manay Travels, was arrested from Kalyan on June 14. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The elderly citizens from Dwarka had filed an FIR against the operator on April 9 this year. Police said they had contacted the operator and asked him to join the probe. But he never showed up. Additional deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka) Santosh Kumar Meena said Nrupathy Shivajirao Manay, owner of Mumbai-based Manay Travels, was arrested from Kalyan on June 14.

An investigating officer said the FIR was filed by the president of a senior citizen association, Balbir Singh Yadav. Yadav had told police that 64 members of the association had planned to go to Dubai on a foreign trip.

They approached Malay Travels in February after seeing an advertisement offering a Dubai package. “Since Malay’s package was the lowest, the association accepted his offer and paid around ₹18 lakh. The Dubai tour was scheduled on March 8,” said the officer.

Despite repeated reminders, he allegedly did not refund the money. Yadav then filed a complaint on behalf of all the members. During the probe, the officer said, money transaction details and other documents related to the case were examined.

The tour operator’s bank account was freezed and a notice to join the probe was served to him. “We are trying to find out if the tour operator had duped other people using the same modus operandi,” the officer said.