A 39-year-old spice trader, Mukesh Shah, has accused Anand Soni, the owner of Dream Holiday, an Ahmedabad-based travel agency, of defrauding him of Rs 17.48 lakh. The alleged scam involves a cancelled Goa tour for which Shah did not receive a refund.
In his complaint filed with the Jamnagar City C Division police station, Shah, who owns Aradhya Sales Agency, stated that he had organized a tour package for 323 of his customers. The package, which was priced at Rs 15,800 per person, totaled Rs 49.87 lakh. Shah had also arranged for airline tickets costing Rs 19.5 lakh, which he paid to Soni.
To facilitate the payment, Shah collected Rs 17.48 lakh in cash from his customers and sent the amount through an angadia firm to Soni. However, after the tour was cancelled, Shah claims that Soni did not return the money, prompting him to file the complaint.
Following the complaint, the Jamnagar police have booked Soni under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code and have initiated an investigation into the matter. This case has raised concerns over travel-related scams targeting customers, especially in the midst of changing travel conditions.