Online fraud | Panchkula woman taken for ride on pretext of Char Dham chopper services
Complainant Seema Gupta, an entrepreneur by profession in Panchkula, said she came across a website “chardhamhelicopterservice.com” through a simple Google search and submitted her contact details there
A Panchkula resident lost ₹2.2 lakh to an online fraudster while looking for a helicopter ride for Char Dham yatra with her family.
Complainant Seema Gupta, an entrepreneur by profession, said that she came across a website “chardhamhelicopterservice.com” through a simple Google search and submitted her contact details there.
Following this, she got a call from a man who identified himself as Anshuman and claimed that he was an agent of Pawan Hans Ltd, and based in Dehradun Phata.
“He asked me to send my details on his Whatsapp number so that he could send me the quotation for the trip for four people. We were told to pay 50% of the ticket charges in advance and the remaining amount two days before the chopper ride,” she stated in the FIR.
“He issued four helicopter tickets on WhatsApp after taking our Aadhar card, Passport and Covid vaccination details. Later, another relative expressed her wish to join us on the trip following which I contacted the accused again. He gave me details of a separate bank account, which got me suspicious. When I asked him why he was changing the bank accounts, he got agitated,” Gupta further stated.
She then cross checked with HDFC, PNB and RBL banks’ branches in Panchkula, where officials told her that the accounts to which she made the payments are not registered in the name of Pawan Hans. The accounts belong to private persons, she was informed.
She said she has deposited ₹2,20,000 in different accounts between April 1 and 23.
The woman further stated that with the help of the cyber cell and mobile companies, she found out that the phone number from which she received the calls were operating from Bihar, and the SIMs were purchased from West Bengal.
The woman told the police that she asked the accused to refund the money, but he blatantly refused and asked her to deposit the full amount.
She added that she is still receiving calls from the accused.
A case under Section 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered at Panchkula’s Sector 14 police station on Wednesday.