A government official was tricked into booking a fake Char Dham helicopter ticket through a fraudulent website.

The entire incident came to light when a government official from Delhi wanted to book helicopter tickets for his family members travelling to Kedarnath during the Char Dham Yatra. Like many people, he searched on Google for helicopter booking services. During his search, he found a website that appeared to be the official booking portal and looked genuine. Believing it to be authentic, he completed the online booking.

Shortly afterward, he received confirmation messages and e-tickets through WhatsApp and Gmail. Initially, the victim had landed on a fake website with a domain name that closely resembled the official Char Dham helicopter booking portal. The website displayed pilgrimage packages, several images of the Char Dham shrines, and a "Book Now" button.

After clicking the "Book Now" button, he was forwarded to another page claiming to offer helicopter ticket bookings. A WhatsApp chat then opened automatically. The fraudsters shared fare charts and package details to make the booking appear genuine. They asked him to pay for two helicopter tickets from Phata to Kedarnath. After he paid Rs 20,328, they sent him e-tickets through WhatsApp and Gmail.

The scam was exposed when the family travelled from Delhi to the Phata helipad in Uttarakhand. At the boarding point, officials of the helicopter operator informed them that the tickets they were carrying were completely fake and had never been issued through the authorised booking system.

The government official immediately filed a complaint through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP). The complaint was transferred to the Cyber Police Station in South Delhi, where investigators registered an FIR and launched a detailed investigation.

Following the investigation, Delhi Police arrested three accused who had coordinated with each other to make the fake booking website appear genuine. Shreyansh Tiwari allegedly created and maintained fake booking websites that closely resembled the official portals. Omprakash Kumar allegedly coordinated the entire operation and hired the website developer. Rohit Kumar allegedly handled phone calls, WhatsApp conversations, convinced victims to book tickets, and managed the payment process.

Police said that Omprakash Kumar had previously been booked in a cyber job fraud case in Delhi in 2022. The other two accused reportedly had no prior criminal record and were allegedly working under his direction.

According to the police, pilgrims are easy targets because many of them search online and book tickets quickly without carefully verifying whether the website is genuine. This makes them vulnerable to fake portals promoted through search results and social media advertisements.

Police have advised people to be careful while booking through links shared on WhatsApp or other messaging apps. Before making any payment, travellers should verify that they are using the official helicopter booking website. If anyone becomes a victim of such fraud, they should immediately report it through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) or by calling the cybercrime helpline 1930. Prompt reporting increases the chances of recovering the lost funds.