Techie who registered for tour to Andaman & Nicobar duped of 1.6 lakh in Pune

PUNE: The Market Yard police have booked a tour operator on the charge of duping a 32-year-old IT professional of Rs 1.6 lakh on the pretext of a group tour to Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
Police said the complainant, Harshal Shinde, had contacted the tour operator after coming across an advertisement on a video-sharing platform on September 26 last year.
After obtaining information about the tour and package, Shinde started planning for the same. He formed a group on a messaging app with 15 friends and relatives willing to join the tour.
On February 6 this year, Shinde paid Rs 1.60 lakh to the tour operator via UPI as a token amount for booking the tour and other arrangements. However, after receiving the money, the travel operator stopped responding to Shinde's calls and did not return the money.
While the police are yet to arrest the operator, inspector (crime) Sangeeta Dhamdere of the Market Yard police said, "We are verifying the reports about the tour operator already having been arrested by the police in Andaman & Nicobar Islands. We have details about the same."
Initially, Shinde had filed a complaint application with the police, and following verification of the same, the Market Yard police registered an FIR on Wednesday.
"The token amount transferred by the complainant through UPI has gone to the operator's account," Dhamdere said, adding, "We are verifying further details regarding the operator's residence and other aspects."