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In a major crackdown on cyber fraud targeting wildlife enthusiasts, the Cyber Centre of Excellence (CCoE) in Gandhinagar has arrested two men from Delhi for allegedly running an illegal online racket that sold permits for jungle safaris, including Gujarat’s Gir National Park, at exorbitant prices through fake websites.
According to officials, the accused had been fraudulently booking safari slots in advance from the official government portals for popular reserves such as Gir (Sasan Gir, Gujarat), Ranthambore (Jaipur, Rajasthan), Tadoba (Nagpur, Maharashtra), Jim Corbett (Nainital, Uttarakhand), Kaziranga (Assam) and Bandhavgarh (Umaria, Madhya Pradesh).
They then sold these slots to tourists through fake private websites and travel agents, charging many times more than the government-fixed rates.
The arrests were made under the supervision of Dr Rajdeep Singh Jhala, Superintendent of Police (SP).
The arrested accused has been identified as Ajay Kumar Ghanshyambhai Chaudhary, a resident of Badli, Delhi (originally from Begusarai, Bihar), and Arvind Shrikant Upadhyay, residing at Shakarpur, Delhi (originally from Ghaziabad, Bihar).
Police officials revealed that the accused created a shortage of available safari permits by bulk-booking them in advance through official government portals using fake identities and electronic devices.
They then diverted unsuspecting tourists to their own fake websites, designed to resemble the official portals, and sold the booked permits at inflated prices under the guise of “confirmed” tickets.
During the probe, the police found that the gang had created a parallel website and collected online payments through it. Data seized from their systems included 12,000 Gir Safari permits, 8,650 confirmation and payment emails, and 10,278 PDF links for bookings at various sanctuaries across India.
Authorities have urged travellers to book safari permits only through official government websites and to remain vigilant against online advertisements on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Telegram that promote fraudulent booking links.
Tourists are also advised to read and follow all instructions carefully while booking on government sites. In case of suspected fraud, victims should immediately contact the Cybercrime Helpline at 1930 or report the matter to the nearest police station.
Earlier this month, a similar case led to the arrest of three individuals. On October 13, three accused, including one from Ahmedabad and two from Sasan Gir, were apprehended for allegedly creating a fake scarcity of safari permits and defrauding tourists through unauthorized online bookings.
The accused, identified as Alpesh Kuma Bhalani of Ahmedabad, and Sultanbhai Baloch and Ejaz Sheikh, both residents of Sasan Gir in Junagadh district, are accused of fraudulently using the state government’s official website.
They allegedly made bulk bookings by entering false names and uploading random photos instead of Aadhaar details, thereby hoarding safari slots. These permits were then purportedly sold to tourists at two to three times their original price, especially on weekends and holidays.