Ahmedabad Woman Loses ₹65,000 In Fake Kedarnath Helicopter Booking Scam

A 28-year-old Ahmedabad woman allegedly lost ₹65,000 after an unidentified person posing as a helicopter booking agent promised to arrange her journey to Kedarnath but failed to provide a booking or return her money.

Shivani Thakkar, a sales manager at a bank and resident of Satellite, approached the police after allegedly realising that the online booking service was a fraud.

Woman Finds Booking Number Online

According to her complaint, Thakkar was searching online for a helicopter service for her Kedarnath trip when she came across a mobile number on May 25.

She contacted the number and was allegedly told that she needed to pay ₹65,000 upfront to secure the helicopter booking.

Trusting the person claiming to be a booking agent, Thakkar transferred the amount through Google Pay from her State Bank of India account.

The promised booking, however, never materialised.

Fraudster Allegedly Demands More Money

After receiving the payment, the alleged agent reportedly failed to make the helicopter booking and did not refund the ₹65,000 despite repeated requests from Thakkar.

The caller allegedly then demanded another ₹3,000, claiming that the additional payment was required to process the refund of the original amount.

Thakkar became suspicious and realised that she could have fallen victim to an online fraud.

Cybercrime Complaint Filed

She contacted the 1930 cybercrime helpline and registered a complaint before approaching Satellite police station, where she lodged a formal complaint against the holder of the mobile number.

Satellite Police have registered a case and launched an investigation.

Investigators are examining the payment trail, mobile number and other digital evidence to identify the person allegedly behind the fraud and trace the money.

The case is the latest warning for travellers to verify booking platforms and service providers before making advance payments for pilgrimage-related travel services.