Helicopter-ticketing fraud worth lakhs detected in Uttarakhand's Char Dham Yatra

Dehradun: A heli-ticketing fraud with Char Dham pilgrims worth lakhs of rupees has been detected in Uttarakhand.

Twenty-six cases of helicopter ticketing frauds have been registered in different districts of Uttarakhand including Rudraprayag, Haridwar, Uttarkashi, Dehradun and Chamoli over a period of two years in 2023 and 2024, office of the Inspector General of Police (IG) Garhwal said in response to an RTI query.

Six of these cases were lodged in Rudraprayag, two each in Haridwar and Uttarkashi and four in Dehradun in 2024, the office of IG, Garhwal said.

In 2023, eight such cases were registered in Rudraprayag, one each in Haridwar and Chamoli and two in Dehradun, it said.

The RTI query was filed by one Amit Gupta, a resident of Noida.

However, citing the data of cyber crime cell of Uttarakhand police, Gupta said a total of 47 heli-ticketing fraud cases worth Rs 10 lakh were reported during 2023-2024 in which three persons have so far been arrested.

Recovery in the fraud cases so far has been nil, he said.

There are also a large number of fake Char Dham Yatra booking websites which are cheating unsuspecting pilgrims, he said.

According to the cyber crime cell of the Uttarakhand police, 82 such websites and 20 Facebook pages have been blocked.