The Khar police have registered a case against a fraudster, who posed as a travel agency operator, and duped six people of Rs14.94 lakh under the pretext of providing them discounted flights and hotel bookings in France.
According to the police, the complainant Vinay Makhija, 43, a resident of Khar West, approached Mohammad Farukhi, 37, at his office in Kristal Plaza Mall for flight tickets for his family.
Details of case
Makhija was told to pay Rs1.88 lakh for four tickets from Mumbai to Delhi and from Delhi to Paris. He later visited the Farukhi’s office and provided relevant documents.
As the payment was done, Makhija was told that he would get tickets in two days. However, Farukhi failed to do so even after ten days. Upon inquiry, Farukhi requested an additional Rs2 lakh, promising to provide tickets, visas, and hotel bookings together and Makhija transferred. After nearly two months of continuous inquiries by Makhija, Farukhi claimed he needed Rs36,000 to go to the French Consulate for visa-related matters.
Makhija provided Rs20,000, but when he received no information about visa interviews. Later, when Makhija visited Farukhi’s office, he found it closed and his mobile phone switched off. Although Farukhi returned their passports via Makhija’s friend but did not return any money. The complaint paid Rs4.8 lakh in total.
Upon further investigation, Makhija found that Farukhi had cheated five others in the same manner, totalling Rs14.94 lakh. The case against Farukhi was filed under sections 406 (breach of trust), 409 (criminal breach of trust), and 420 (cheating and dishonesty) of the Indian Penal Code.
