Kandivali Man Dupes Travel Company Of ₹12.78 Lakh

A 32-year-old man has been booked for allegedly duping his employer, a tours and travel company, of Rs12.78 lakh and issuing fake tickets to customers. Kaushal Shah, a resident of Kandivali West, was hired just two months ago.

In its complaint lodged at the Kandivali police station on March 26, Flamingo Transworld Private Ltd said that it specialises in travel services, including ticket booking and lodging services within India and abroad. Its office is located at Eden Garden cooperative housing society, Kandivali West.

The complaint further said that Shah was hired as a sales consultant in January. He was responsible for gathering required information from customers intending to travel domestically or internationally and arranging suitable packages for them. Once the deal was struck, customers would then deposit money into the company's account based on Shah's recommendations.

Days after Shah's recruitment, a client lodged a complaint, saying that Shah took Rs2.05 lakh for a tour to Thailand, but gave fake tickets, said Flamingo Transworld. Upon investigation, it was discovered that the accused had provided his personal bank details to the customer, resulting in the money being credited to his account. When confronted, Shah claimed it was a mistake and promised to resolve the issue with the client, the company added.

However, another customer raised a similar grievance in a span of few days. This time, Shah took Rs6.73 lakh for a nine-day Singapore tour package. The money was paid into different accounts as sought by Shah. Eventually, he confessed to the fraudulent acts, including the issuance of fake tickets.

He has been booked under the Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating and dishonesty), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document).