EOW books three executives of GoAir in Rs 4.2 crore fraud

On April 7, 2023 the accused airline company and its official sent an email to the complainant tour operator informing them that they have the mandate to fly chartered flight services to Jeddah but despite this they did not fly the chartered flights, the FIR states.

When the complainant company communicated to GoAir via an email seeking a refund of Rs 4.2 crore that they have paid towards 6 chartered (flights), they failed to repay it, they alleged in the complaint.

Jitesh Pujari, the complainant from the tour company, claimed in the police complaint that despite knowing that their company is going to get bankrupt soon, between April 23 and May 8 in 2023, the accused executives with a mala fide intention deposited 4.14 crore credit points in their company’s e-wallet knowing that these coins cannot be used in future. Thus, they made wrongful gains for their company and defrauded the complainant company, the EOW sources said.

Based on the complaint, EOW first conducted a preliminary inquiry and after finding substance in the complaint on Friday, they first got an FIR registered at the Pydhonie police station and later took over the investigation.

The three executives of the airline company have been booked under sections 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.

Contacting phone numbers available online and email to the airline company did not elicit any response. The company’s website too was found non-functional.

Go First shut down operations due to financial woes caused by persisting issues with engines that had resulted in the grounding of its aircraft in 2023. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) recently ordered the liquidation of Go First Airways after a request from the cash-strapped airline’s lenders.