Delhi: Online hotel booking racket busted, four arrested

Police probe began after a complaint was filed by one Shashank Raizada, who reported being duped of Rs 68,000 while attempting to book a stay at JW Marriott in Chandigarh, in August this year. The victim had made the payment on what appeared to be a legitimate hotel website, only to discover later that the portal was fake. Acting on the complaint, an FIR was registered and an extensive interstate operation spanning Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Uttarakhand was launched, said police.

Led by DCP (South-East) Dr Hemant Tiwari and under the supervision of ACP (Operations) Hari Singh and SHO (Cyber Inspector) Pankaj Kumar, a team conducted raids for over 144 hours between October 23 and 31. With the help of technical surveillance and local intelligence, officers tracked the suspects to Jhenjhpuri village in Rajasthan’s Deeg district. Three accused — Sharup (26), Ekrar (27), and Sohail (24) — were arrested on October 24.

Police said the accused allegedly revealed during questioning that the websites had been created through a digital advertising agency named Adsline. At their instance, the team traced and arrested the agency’s owner, Gopal Singh Karki (32), from Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar on Thursday. Karki allegedly managed the creation and promotion of the fake portals, ensuring those appeared among top search results on the Internet, said police.

“The accused persons had devised a sophisticated method of cyber fraud by creating fake websites in the name of reputed five-star hotels across India. They would then push sponsored advertisements on Google, ensuring their fake contact numbers appeared on top search results when potential customers searched for hotel bookings. Upon receiving calls, the accused posed as hotel receptionists, offered 10–20% discounts on instant online payments, and induced victims to transfer funds. The received payments were redirected to online merchants for the purchase of gold, mobile phones, and electronic gadgets, which were then delivered to different locations. In this particular case, a purchase of gold Jewellery worth Rs 68,000 was made through the Reliance Jewels website and delivered at a public spot in Jaipur,” said DCP Tiwari.

The police recovered six mobile phones, an Apple laptop, and digital records showing data from over 100 fake websites. Analysis of these devices also led to the identification of 132 related complaints filed nationwide through the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal.

During interrogation, Karki allegedly told police that he provided web development and digital marketing services to the other accused for a commission, helping them upload and promote fraudulent hotel portals. Ekrar, believed to be the main conspirator, managed finances and logistics, while Sharup arranged fake SIM cards and handled victim communications. Sohail was tasked with collecting the goods bought with victims’ money and selling them at discounted prices.

Police said efforts are underway to identify more victims and trace the remaining members of the network. Authorities also urged the public to verify hotel websites carefully before making online payments and to use official portals or verified aggregators for bookings.