In a major cyber fraud bust, police have arrested Tejas Shashikant Vaishnav (31) from Pune for allegedly cheating a travel company by issuing fake flight tickets for a group tour to Dubai.
According to officials, Chaudhary Yatra Company had organised a pilgrimage tour from Mumbai to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, scheduled between January 16 and 22, 2025. For the group of 50 travelers, the company paid Rs10.82 lakh to Milestone Holidays Pvt. Ltd., located in Sangamner (Ahilyanagar district), to arrange airline tickets.
Tejas, working at Milestone Holidays’ Pune office, sent Air India and IndiGo flight tickets to the tour company. However, on January 16, when the group arrived at Mumbai International Airport, only four tickets were valid. The remaining 46 tickets were rejected by the airline system, forcing the tour company to cancel the trip entirely.
Following the incident, Chaudhary Yatra Company lodged a complaint with the Nashik Cyber Police Station on January 18, alleging they were cheated out of Rs19.82 lakh and defamed through fraudulent activities.
Under the guidance of Police Commissioner Sandeep Karnik and ACP Kiran Kumar Chavan, the Anti-Gunda Squad led by Dnyaneshwar Mohite traced and arrested Tejas Vaishnav from the Baner area of Pune. He has been handed over to the Nashik Cyber Police for further investigation.
The operation was carried out by a joint team including Vijay Suryavanshi, Pradeep Thackeray, Sunil Adke, and Ganesh Bhagwat, with inputs from cyber crime experts.
Police are now investigating whether Tejas acted alone or as part of a larger racket involving bogus travel services and fake ticketing.
