‘Duped of thousands of rupees’: Delhi BJP leader Vijay Jolly falls victim to online hotel booking scam in Ayodhya

Former BJP MLA from Sangam Vihar, Vijay Jolly, on Thursday claimed that he was duped of "thousands of rupees" by cyber criminals, who allegedly tricked him into booking rooms in the temple town of Ayodhya on a fake website, reported PTI.

According to the report, Jolly arranged for water from 156 rivers worldwide for the 'Jalabhishek' ceremony at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on 23 April 2023.

In a statement, Jolly said that his NGO – Delhi Study Group – was taking 100 people to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on 23 April.

He alleged that fraudsters created a fake website named after a popular dharmshala in Ayodhya and duped him of 'thousands of rupees'.

Meanwhile, Jolly stated he has lodged a complaint with the cybercrime unit of the Delhi Police.

On 22 January 2024, the newly built Ram temple in Ayodhya was consecrated in a grand ceremony. Following this, the shrine has drawn a large number of devotees from India and abroad.

Delhi Police arrests 5 cyber fraudsters from Rajasthan and Gujarat

Earlier in the day, a report arrived that the Delhi Police arrested five men from Rajasthan and Gujarat for allegedly duping people of about ₹50 lakh.

The Delhi Police claimed that the fraudsters used different methods to defraud people over the past two years.

The arrested accused have been identified as Zakir (32), Karan Swami (20) and Javed (20), all residents of Jaipur, Tejas Panchal (26) from Ahmedabad, and Mohammad Sohail alias Sahil (26) from Jodhpur.

Some of them posed as bank customer care executives and lured the victims by offering credit card enhancements, while others impersonated the victims' relatives and sent fake SMS messages claiming that money had been credited to their bank accounts.

Among the other methods the fraudsters use include fake online job offers.

With agency inputs.