Two held for running 126 fake hotel, ashram websites nationwide; over 21,000 cheated

Gandhinagar, Aug 14 (IANS) The Gujarat Police’s Cyber Centre of Excellence has arrested two men from Delhi and Rajasthan for allegedly operating a network of more than 126 fake websites impersonating dharamshalas, ashrams, trusts and hotels at prominent tourist and pilgrimage destinations across India, with the websites collectively linked to complaints involving 21,985 citizens.

The arrests on Thursday followed a technical analysis and investigation using human intelligence by teams formed under the supervision of senior officials.

The accused have been identified as 34-year-old Vikikumar Gupta, a digital marketing and web developer from Delhi, and 24-year-old Shailesh Saini, a competitive examination student from Bharatpur district in Rajasthan.

According to the officials, the accused created websites using the names, photographs and designs of genuine dharamshalas, ashrams, trusts and hotels, while also creating websites in the names of establishments that did not have official websites.

They allegedly presented themselves as authorised representatives of the establishments and used the websites to obtain room-booking requests from customers.

The websites covered destinations in 11 states and Union Territories, including Somnath, Dwarka, Girnar, Palitana, Bhuj, Junagadh, Patan and Gandhinagar in Gujarat; Tirumala, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh; Katra in Jammu and Kashmir; Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh; Juhu, Powai, Shirdi, Oshiwara and Shegaon in Maharashtra; Jagannath Puri in Odisha; Srirangam in Tamil Nadu; Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh; Rishikesh and Haridwar in Uttarakhand; and Kolkata in West Bengal.

Karnataka was also among the states listed in the investigation.

The police identified 41 such websites linked to locations in Gujarat, 18 in Andhra Pradesh, five in Jammu and Kashmir, five in Karnataka, seven in Madhya Pradesh, eight in Maharashtra, six in Odisha, six in Tamil Nadu, two in Uttar Pradesh, 27 in Uttarakhand and one in West Bengal.

The accused allegedly promoted the bogus websites through Google Search and advertisements. Customers searching online for accommodation would enter their names, mobile numbers and booking dates on the websites.

These details were received directly by Gupta through his Gmail account. Gupta allegedly forwarded the booking requests to Saini through WhatsApp and to various mobile numbers used by him.

Saini would then contact customers on the numbers provided in the booking requests, allegedly posing as a reception manager or representative of the concerned hotel or accommodation facility.

He would collect money from customers in the name of advance room bookings and allegedly fail to provide the booked service.

Police said Gupta retained C-Panel and other technical access to the websites, allowing changes to mobile numbers and website content.

Investigation has also revealed a Google Sheet containing details of around 126 websites on his laptop, while his mobile phone contained related WhatsApp chats, booking requests and C-Panel information.

According to the preliminary findings, Gupta received financial benefits for website development, mobile number updates, search engine optimisation and Google advertising services.

He is also suspected of receiving a 35 per cent share from bookings made through some of the websites.

The investigation further found that multiple websites had been created using domains such as .com, .co.in, .co, .org and .in.

Police have found more than 70 complaints related to the websites on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCCRP). The Cyber Centre of Excellence has registered the case.

Three mobile phones and one laptop, collectively valued at Rs 29,000, have been seized.

Police said the investigation indicates that Gupta’s role involved developing the bogus websites, retaining their technical control, receiving booking information from customers and forwarding it to the main accused, while Saini allegedly handled customers and collected advance payments.

–IANS

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