Man arrested for cheating 189 people of Rs 1.2 Crore by promising Haj pilgrimage
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The Economic Offence Wing of the Odisha Police has arrested a man from Mumbai for allegedly defrauding 189 people of Rs 1.2 crore by falsely promising to arrange their Haj pilgrimage.
According to an official statement issued on Monday, the arrest was made on September 27 in Mumbai, and the accused was brought to Bhubaneswar on transit remand.
The case originated from a complaint filed by Mir Khursid from the Dhamnagar area in Bhadrak district. The complaint alleged that two Mumbai-based tour and travel agencies had collected Rs 1.2 crore from 189 prospective Haj pilgrims between 2019 and 2023 under the guise of facilitating their pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
The agencies offered two packages, costing Rs 45,786 and Rs 50,786 per individual, but repeatedly postponed the pilgrimage dates over the years. Eventually, the proprietors shut down their office and became unreachable, leaving the prospective pilgrims without either the trip or a refund.
The Economic Offence Wing has seized mobile phones, money receipts, and cheques as part of the investigation, the statement added.