A 22-year-old freelance website designer was arrested on Sunday for allegedly creating fake websites that mimicked an online food delivery app's ticketing platform. He is accused of duping people by selling counterfeit tickets for singer Diljit Dosanjh's concert, the Dil-Luminati India Tour, two years ago.
Arrest details
The accused, Priyanshu Kushwah, hails from Udham Singh Nagar district in Uttarakhand. He completed his BCA in Ghaziabad in 2024 and worked as a freelance website designer in Dehradun. Police said he designed one of the fake websites at the behest of a man named Nitin in exchange for Rs 5,000.
Two other men, Nitin and Vishnu, were arrested in connection with the same case last year. All three are Delhi residents.
How the scam operated
The case surfaced after the food delivery company approached the Cyber Crime South police station in September 2024, alleging misuse of its brand name and sale of fake online tickets linked to Diljit's concert. A case was registered under sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the IT Act.
The probe led police to Nitin and Vishnu, who created multiple fake domains to deceive people into believing they were purchasing genuine tickets through the company that was the authorised ticketing partner for the event.
The accused used Instagram pages and fake email IDs to attract buyers and collect payments. Unsuspecting fans were redirected to cloned websites designed to closely resemble the original booking platform. Police also found that these men created fake portals capable of generating booking confirmations and convincing users that the transactions were legitimate.
Wider network suspected
“The websites were allegedly operated as part of a wider network involving multiple people,” a police officer said. Police said they are tracking the money trail and identifying additional victims of the fraud.
