Mumbai: Powai police have arrested two men from Pimpri-Chinchwad and Beed district for their involvement in a fake hotel and resort website scam. A 53-year-old Powai resident was duped of Rs 12,000 in January while attempting to book a resort in Karjat.
The arrested individuals were identified as Kunal Gaikwad (21), a college dropout from Pimpri-Chinchwad, and Datta Kedar (23), a graduate from Beed. According to police, the duo shared their bank account and SIM card with the racket to facilitate the fraud. Gaikwad was arrested on May 5, while Kedar was taken into custody on March 25.
“The racket is using mule accounts to carry out cyber frauds and park the fraudulent money. In this case, Gaikwad’s bank account and Kedar’s SIM were used by the racket to commit the fraud. The details were shared with the complainant to make payment for the resort booking using a QR code that was sent to him,” said a Powai police officer.
Police said the Powai resident, employed in the Merchant Navy, fell victim between January 2 and 3 under the pretext of booking a room at Urivergate Resort. He got in touch with Gaikwad, who pretended to be a business operator registered as Kunal Confectionery in Dharak, and provided Google Pay details to dupe him.
In the complaint, the Powai resident stated: “On January 2, while searching online to book Urivergate Resort, I found the website https://www.urivergatekarjat.online/?gad_campaignid=23347184388. On this website, I found mobile number 869803663 for booking. When I called this number from my mobile number 9987544467, the holder answered and told me to contact him via WhatsApp on the same number for resort booking. The unknown person gained my trust by sending photos of the resort and told me I would have to send Rs 12,000 as an advance for booking two rooms. He sent me a Google Pay QR code to accept the payment online. I scanned the QR code using Google Pay on my wife’s mobile. At that time, the money appeared to be deposited into a business named Kunal Confectionery. After that, when I contacted the person regarding my booking, he gave evasive answers, which confirmed I had been defrauded. I then called the cyber helpline 1930 and registered my complaint.”
Based on the complaint, DCP Datta Nalawade supervised the team including senior inspector Jitendra Sonawane, inspector Ganesh Patil, sub-inspector Prashant Kendre, and staff, who solved the case after first tracking the QR code provided to the complainant. Police said the QR code helped retrieve the SIM number, which led to the bank account linked to it.
Powai police tracked the accused four months after the fraud and are searching for two more individuals believed to be part of the racket. Both accused are in judicial custody and have failed to secure bail.
