Mumbai: The Malad police on Wednesday registered a cheating case against a travel agency owner for allegedly cheating the chief financial officer of Radio City of Rs13.25 lakh by promising to arrange a trip to Canada for his family.
According to the police, the complainant Prashant Domadia, 49, a resident of Ghatkopar East, had previously travelled to the USA through Sans Incredible Vacations LLC, where he met the accused Amit Singh, who was then employed there. In 2021, Singh informed Domadia that he had started his own travel agency, Travel Connections, in Malad, and frequently sent him information about travel packages.
In March 2024, Domadia contacted Singh about a Canada trip. Singh provided details and requested payment, which Domadia transferred online in multiple transactions totalling Rs14.4 lakh. Singh assured Domadia via email that the flight tickets and hotel reservations were booked.
On May 15, Domadia received a call from Dhriti Tours, a Pune-based travel agency, stating that Singh had booked the Canada trip tickets through them but had not paid. Singh gave various excuses and claimed the bookings were in progress, but did not follow through. Dhriti Tours warned Domadia of ticket cancellation if payment was not made.
Upon checking with the hotels, Domadia found that no reservations had been made. He demanded a refund, but Singh only returned a small portion of the money, leaving Rs13.25 lakh unpaid. The FIR against Singh has been filed under sections 406 (breach of trust) and 420 (cheating and dishonesty) of the Indian Penal Code.
