The accused, identified as Tarun Rastogi, worked as a ticketing clerk with a private travel company in Barakhamba Road and used his position to fraudulently collect money in his personal bank account while issuing tickets through the company’s platform, he said.
According to police, the case was registered on May 31 at Cyber South Police Station following a complaint lodged by the businessman against Rastogi, who represented the travel company.
During the initial stage, four bookings were made and successfully delivered, along with payment receipts generated from the official e-mail domain of the company, police said.
However, between April 29 and May 7, the complainant made further payments for seven client tickets amounting to Rs 8.82 lakh.
“Though the tickets were issued, they were later cancelled without any refund. Despite repeated follow-ups through calls and messages, the accused neither reissued the tickets nor returned the money,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Ankit Chauhan in a statement said.
Following the registration of the case, a team was formed to investigate the matter.
Investigators scrutinised bank transactions and tracked the flow of money to a personal account held by Rastogi. His location was traced and he was subsequently apprehended.
A mobile phone, a laptop, one debit card, a bank passbook and three chequebooks used in the crime were recovered, the police said.
During interrogation, Rastogi “confessed” to the crime and revealed that he initially booked tickets through the company’s platform and gained the complainant’s trust, the police said.
However, instead of depositing the ticket payments in the company’s account, he directed them to his own. After receiving the money, he deliberately got the tickets cancelled, they said.
Further investigation revealed that Rastogi is a repeat offender with at least six past cases of cheating and fraud registered against him in various Delhi police stations, including Connaught Place, Paharganj, Barakhamba Road and Subhash Place.
“Rastogi exploited his position at the travel agency to build customer trust and executed the fraud by using the company’s resources while diverting funds for personal gain,” the officer added.
The police said that Rastogi’s modus operandi involved targeting people seeking bulk or regular ticket bookings and establishing trust through successful initial transactions before committing the fraud. PTI BM BM RT RT
