Kolkata, Jan 27 (PTI) Kolkata Police arrested a man from Pune in connection with an online hotel booking fraud in which unsuspecting customers were cheated by fake websites of reputed hotels across the country, an officer said on Tuesday.
The accused, identified as 41-year-old Huzaifa Shabbir Darbar, was arrested on January 27 from his office in Pune following a raid conducted jointly with the local police, he said.
The accused and his associates allegedly created multiple fake hotel booking websites and induced people to make payments under the false pretext of room reservations, the officer said.
“As many as 83 victims were cheated of a cumulative amount of Rs 13.6 lakh,” he said.
A case was registered on July 18 at the Cyber Police Station in Kolkata, under various sections of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, based on a complaint lodged by a police officer, he said.
“We found that one of the victims, a Kolkata resident, had attempted to book a hotel room in Puri through a website that appeared genuine. He was initially asked to make a nominal payment of Re one to verify the booking and was later persuaded to transfer additional amounts through UPI on the pretext of transaction failures,” he said.
After the full payment was made, no booking confirmation was provided, and all subsequent calls went unanswered, the officer said, adding that the victim later reported the matter on the national cybercrime helpline and his local police station.
Notices were issued to banks and domain service providers during the probe, which revealed that the fake website was hosted on an overseas domain platform. Further technical analysis led investigators to an email ID and mobile number allegedly used by the accused, he added.
Based on the findings, a raid was conducted at the accused’s residence and office in Pune after obtaining court permission. “During interrogation, the accused admitted his involvement,” the officer said.
Several digital devices, including a mobile phone, a laptop and a pen drive containing electronic data, were seized during the search, police said.
The arrest was made on the basis of a warrant issued by a Kolkata court, and all legal procedures were followed, including informing the accused and his family about the grounds of arrest, the officer added.
Further investigation is underway to ascertain the role of others involved in the racket. PTI SCH RG
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