Ahmedabad Textile Businessman Alleges ₹11.38 Lakh Bali Tour Fraud by Indore Travel Agent

Madhavpura police register cheating case against travel agent accused of repeatedly increasing package costs for a proposed group tour and failing to provide flight and hotel confirmations or refund the advance.

An Ahmedabad-based textile businessman has accused an Indore-based travel agent of cheating him of ₹11.38 lakh in advance payments for a proposed Bali tour for a group of businessmen. The agent allegedly revised the package rates multiple times without providing confirmed flight tickets or hotel reservations.

The complainant, Pritesh Atulkumar Adhesra, 41, a partner at Shahibaug-based textile firm Navkar Fab Tex, lodged a complaint at Madhavpura police station on October 11 against Nitin Agarwal, who allegedly operates a travel business under the name Wonder Desire International Holiday in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

Bali tour planned for group of businessmen

According to the complaint, Adhesra and his business associates began planning an annual tour to Bali, Indonesia, for their customers in July 2025. They were introduced to Agarwal through an Indore-based businessman and discussed travel arrangements for a group of 40 to 70 people.

The proposed package included return flights from Ahmedabad, six nights and seven days at a five-star hotel in Bali, meals and entry fees to tourist attractions.

On September 20, 2025, Agarwal allegedly shared a package proposal on his company's letterhead, quoting ₹76,000 per person. The parties subsequently agreed to arrangements for an initial group of 40 people at the quoted rate, the complaint stated.

₹11.38 lakh transferred as advance

Between October 2025 and January 2026, Adhesra allegedly transferred a total of ₹11.38 lakh from his firm's ICICI Bank account to an account linked to Agarwal's travel business with the Bank of Baroda in Indore.

As preparations continued, the complainant shared identification documents and passenger details through a WhatsApp group created to coordinate the trip. A list of 54 passengers was allegedly shared on February 24, 2026, followed by an updated list of 60 passengers on March 3.

Package cost revised, tour postponed

The tour was initially scheduled for May 31, 2026. However, Agarwal allegedly cited the US-Iran conflict and proposed postponing the trip to June 13.

In a revised proposal dated March 2, Agarwal reportedly increased the package price from ₹76,000 to ₹90,000 per person, claiming the original rate was no longer viable. Adhesra said he agreed to the revised price.

When the complainant sought flight and hotel booking confirmations, Agarwal allegedly claimed that flights for June 13 had been booked but subsequently cancelled. The complainant said the requested confirmations were not provided.

Flight details shared, but bookings remain unconfirmed

On May 7, Agarwal allegedly sent screenshots containing details of two flights from Ahmedabad to Bali scheduled for June 17 and asked the complainant to book tickets. The complainant later shared an updated passenger list containing details of 69 people.

However, repeated attempts to contact Agarwal through phone calls, WhatsApp messages and emails allegedly failed to resolve the matter.

On May 16, the complainant received an email in which Agarwal reportedly quoted ₹93,000 per person for the first 40 passengers and ₹1.05 lakh per person for the remaining 28 passengers.

Businessman seeks refund; police register case

Adhesra alleged that the travel agent repeatedly increased the package cost without providing confirmed flight tickets or hotel reservations. He subsequently demanded a refund of the advance payments but claimed that the money had not been returned.

Madhavpura police have registered a case of alleged cheating and initiated an investigation into the complaint.