Touts promise American tourist tour of Golden Triangle, dupe him of Rs 90,000

A shocking incident came to light from Delhi where an American-based tourist was duped of Rs 1,294 US dollars (INR 91, 734) by members of a gang who picked him from Delhi airport on his arrival on Friday.

The man promised the tourist to take him on the tour of the Golden Triangle i.e. Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur. Instead of taking him on the tour, the gang cheated him.

After hinting that the man was cheating him then he reportedly jumped out the car and approached the police.

A tourist named George Vanmeter lodged a complained to the police and said that he has been bullied, threatened and duped by a group of members.

He told Police that when he came out of the airport terminal on 18 October, a man approached him and offered to drop him at his hotel that he booked in Paharganj, for Rs 400.

After reaching near Connaught Place, the driver pointed to the police barricades on the rod and told Vanmeter that this place is blocked due to the festival season. Then, to fool him, the driver called someone who posed as an official from Paharganj hotel and told the tourist that hotel had been closed due to festivities, said Eish Singhal, deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi).

After listening to him, Vanmeter agreed to go with a driver to a tourist office where a man offered a room in another hotel for $450. After reaching the place, the two men and their aides offered to take Vanmeter on a trip on the Golden Triangle for $1,294.

In his complaint to the police, Vanmeter said that through his stay in the tourist office, he felt unsafe and outnumbered. Also, he alleged that men didn’t allow him to use his mobile phone to check Google Maps to even know his current location. Vanmeter said that he had no choice but to pay the money via his credit card even though he wasn’t interested to go on the trip.

Touts took Vanmeter to Agra in a Swift Dzire and brought back to Delhi on Sunday. He had asked his driver to drop him at the airport, but he realized that they weren’t going to the airport. Hence, Vanmeter checked Google Maps to realize he was in Gole Market.

After some time, Vanmeter noticed two policemen and then, he threw his bags and jumped out of the car for seeking help from Policemen.

A case of cheating was registered at Mandir Marg Police station. Police have arrested a 45-year-old Ram Preet on Monday after getting details about the cab from Vanmeter.

Meanwhile, police are looking for other culprits who are still at large.