37 people duped in Lonavla of ₹10.36 lakh on pretext of Char Dham pilgrimage
A special team has been formed to arrest the suspect. Some victims borrowed money from relatives to pay for the pilgrimage, says official
Lonavla city police have registered a case of fraud and cheating against the proprietor of a Pune-based travel company for duping at least 37 people to the tune of ₹10.36 lakh under the pretence of Char Dham pilgrimage. The incident took place in May this year.
Pradeepkumar Dattatray Mode, 55, a resident of Lonavla has lodged a complaint against Sankeh Ramchandra Bhadale, the proprietor of a Pune-based travel company.
Mode claimed that Bhadale’s company had organised a Kedarnath, Char Dham Yatra for 37 residents of Lonavla. To facilitate the trip, cheques of ₹28,000 each, amounting to a total of ₹10.36 lakh, were collected from the victims. However, the pilgrimage was subsequently cancelled, with the promise of rescheduling it in June.
On May 18, Bhadale handed over cheques to the victims. When the cheques were deposited in the bank, they were dishonoured due to insufficient funds in the account.
Since then, Bhadale’s phone has been switched off, leaving the victims in despair. Realising they had fallen victim to the fraudulent scheme, the victims alerted the police and filed a complaint.
Sitaram Dubal, Lonavla city police station, said, “A special team has been formed to arrest the suspect. Some victims borrowed money from relatives to pay for the pilgrimage.”
