Panchkula, June 19: A massive flight ticket fraud worth ₹26.40 lakh has surfaced in Panchkula, after a local resident alleged he was duped by two travel agents who promised to book business class tickets for a family trip to London.
Ashok Kumar, a resident of Sector 6, filed a complaint stating that he had planned to travel with his family to London in March 2025 to attend his grandson’s birthday. On the recommendation of his son-in-law Rishabh, Kumar approached Divya Thakur from Jalandhar Cantt and her associate Gurjeet Singh, who had previously arranged travel bookings at reasonable rates.
Initially, Divya quoted ₹3.75 lakh for three round-trip business class tickets. This later expanded into an agreement for 15 tickets—12 for Rishabh’s guests and three for Kumar’s family—amounting to ₹20.32 lakh. Kumar made several payments, including ₹10 lakh in cash and ₹2.25 lakh via bank transfers to Gurjeet’s account.
However, as the travel date approached, Kumar grew suspicious. “They kept delaying confirmations and started avoiding calls,” he stated. Upon inquiry at M/s Shiba Travels, he learned that no bookings had been made. The travel agency also revealed that Divya owed them ₹50 lakh.
In a further twist, another acquaintance of Rishabh’s reportedly lost ₹15.25 lakh to Divya under similar circumstances.
The complaint was lodged with the Deputy Commissioner of Police on April 15, 2025. In response, Sector 7 police registered a case under Sections 316(4), 318(4), and 61 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against Divya Thakur and Gurjeet Singh.
While a lawyer representing Divya later arranged partial bookings worth ₹88,000 and ₹85,000 for two passengers, no substantial refunds were issued for the remaining amount. Authorities are continuing their investigation into the alleged travel scam.
