Gujarat CID Cyber cell busts online racket selling fake Gir Safari permits, 3 arrested

In a crackdown on cyber fraud targeting wildlife tourists, the Gujarat CID Crime’s Cyber has busted a racket involved in the illegal sale of Gir Jungle Safari and Devalia Gypsy Safari permits at inflated rates. Three accused including one from Ahmedabad and two from Sasan Gir were arrested for creating a fake scarcity of safari permits and cheating tourists through unauthorised online bookings.

According to the investigation, the accused Alpesh Kumar Bhalani, a resident of Thaltej in Ahmedabad; Sultanbhai Baloch, and Ejaz Sheikh, both residents of Sasan Gir in Junagadh district fraudulently used the state government’s official website to make advance bookings in bulk. By entering false names and uploading random photos in place of Aadhaar details, they allegedly hoarded safari slots and later sold the permits to tourists at two to three times the original price, especially during weekends and holidays.

Data obtained from Gujarat Informatics Pvt Ltd (GIPL), the developer of the official safari booking platform, revealed that between 1 January 2024 and 3 January 2025, the accused made over 83,000 permit bookings using mixed and fabricated names. Of these, around 12,800 permits were confirmed and sold illegally at inflated prices. Investigators also uncovered nine fake websites and several forged email IDs used to conduct these fraudulent transactions.

Police said the accused diverted genuine tourist traffic to their own platform, where they sold pre-booked permits for hefty profits. “The accused exploited the government booking system by mass-reserving slots in advance, thereby creating artificial scarcity and extorting money from unsuspecting tourists,” said an official from the Cyber Cell.

The CID has urged the public to book Gir and Devalia Safari permits only through the official government portal and avoid clicking on links shared via Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, or Telegram.

Victims of similar cyber frauds have been advised to immediately contact the Cybercrime Helpline 1930 or report the matter to the nearest police station.