Two arrested by Odisha CID for making fake website to dupe tourists in Puri

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Odisha Police has arrested two persons from Rajasthan for creating a fake website of a hotel to dupe tourists in Puri, officials said.

The arrested persons have been identified as Aamir Khan (24) and Yusuf (27). Earlier, Anshuman Sharma, another accused person in the case, was arrested from Agra in Uttar Pradesh, the CID said in a statement issued on Monday. 

 

The arrests were made against a case registered on the basis of a complaint filed by the chief administrator of Jagannath Temple, Puri, it said.

According to the police, the fraudsters had created a fake website and provided a mobile number to trap gullible people in the scam. 

 

They gave false assurance of accommodation at the hotel and provided mule bank accounts to transfer funds. However, the hotel's authority was completely unaware of the bookings and eventually received a lot of complaints, the CID said.

The arrested accused persons were produced at Govindgarh court in Alwar in Rajasthan and after receiving transit remand, were brought to Odisha and later forwarded to the designated court, the statement said.

The CID appealed to the citizens to be aware of fake hotel booking websites and urged them to always verify before making any booking for accommodation in unknown places, to avoid falling victim to cyber fraud.