BHUBANESWAR : The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Crime Branch has arrested a Mumbai-based travel agent for allegedly cheating pilgrims from Odisha on the promise of facilitating their Umrah (pilgrimage) in Mecca.
By offering very affordable tour packages they managed to lure many pilgrims and swindled around Rs 1.2 crore from them, the EOW officials said.
The agency has arrested one of the proprietors of Al-Adam Tour and Travels, Nabeel Abdul Mubin Shaikh from Mumbai and brought him to Odisha. He was produced before a court in Balasore on Monday.
Investigation revealed, the two other co-owners of Al-Adam are Nabeel’s mother Firdos Bi Abdul Mubin Shaikh and his sister Saima Anjum Shaikh. The trio in association with proprietor of Al-Izma Tours and Travel in West Mumbai, MD Bismillah Shaikh, cheated around 189 pilgrims in various parts of Odisha like Balasore, Bhadrak and Baripada between 2019 and 2023.
The accused had allegedly posted advertisements on social media and distributed leaflets offering two lucrative tour packages of Rs 45,786 and Rs 50,786 per person to perform Umrah in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.
Initially, they facilitated the visit of some pilgrims and managed to build trust. Soon, more pilgrims came to them and transferred the money in the bank accounts of Nabeel and his mother Firdos Bi, while some also handed cash to them.
However, in the later part of 2023, the accused switched off their mobile phones and closed their office. They neither arranged the tour or refunded the money to the people. In a few instances, they handed over cheques to some persons but they were not honoured by the bank.
“The accused seem to have also collected huge amount of money from pilgrims in Maharashtra and New Delhi,” said an EOW official.
They transferred the ill-gotten money into their personal and other bank accounts. The money was mostly withdrawn through ATMs. Further investigation into the matter is continuing, he said.