UP STF nabs fake holiday package gang that duped over 2,000 people

Four persons, including a woman, were arrested here on Thursday by the Special Task Force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh Police for allegedly duping thousands of people on pretext of offering them holiday packages, officials said.

The gang was held around 5 pm from a shopping mall in Greater Noida. The four accused had come there for a meeting but were tracked down by a joint team of the Lucknow and Noida units of the STF, the officials said.

The gang had multiple websites which offered holiday packages. Their contact address would also be different in those websites. They would wait for queries regarding travel and holidays and then call back the gullible people and ask them to transfer money, said Deputy Superintendent of Police, STF, Raj Kumar Mishra.

So far over 2,000 complaints have been received against the group and most of them are from Rajasthan, UP and Haryana. Recently, they had duped a man of Rs 1.20 lakh by offering a holiday package in Lakshadweep, Mishra said.

Those held have been identified as Aamir Sohail, Vibha Tiwari, Surya Pratap Singh and Deep Kishor, the STF said.

An FIR under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (fraud) and provisions of the Information Technology Act, has been registered against them at Kasna police station, the STF said.