Man held for duping women on pretext of tour to Vaishno Devi

A man was arrested for allegedly duping over 50 women on the pretext of providing them with a tour package to Vaishno Devi, the police said here on Sunday.

Madhur Kumar (36), from Haryana’s Panipat, became part of several Facebook groups formed by devotees and posted captivating messages to lure people with his fake tour packages, it said.

He targeted victims in festive seasons, especially during Navratri, the police said.

The matter came to light in February when a Delhi resident filed a complaint alleging that she got a message on a Facebook group about a tour package to Vaishno Devi, it said.

The tour offer of `1,300 per person included bus charges and meals. She was also assured that she would be taken to the final destination by a horse. So, she deposited the amount using the QR code provided by the accused in a message on the group, the police said.

When the complainant along with 24 other women reached a flyover close to Shahdara Metro station on February 17, the organiser and the bus were not there.

The women tried to contact the organiser but his number was found to be switched off, the police said.

DCP (Shahdara) Rohit Meena said that a case was registered under Section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.

Through technical evidence, the police tracked him and arrested him from his native place in Panipat, he said.

“During interrogation, the accused disclosed that to earn easy money, he indulged in duping devotees, especially women,” he said.

The QR code belonged to his brother-in-law Tanu who lives in Kurukshetra. From Tanu, the cheated amount was disbursed to various accounts through UPI. Subsequently, the accused received the money in cash from them, the DCP said.

Two mobile phones used in the commission of the crime and the SIM cards have been recovered, the police said, adding that a money trail of more than 5 lakh has been found.