After reports of consistent discrepancies in the helicopter services provided to Kedarnath and allegations of helicopter tickets being sold in black, four separate cases have been filed against helicopter companies and alleged agents in Rudraprayag district. According to police sources, few people are trying to misuse the offline tickets that only Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam has the authority to sell.
Rudraprayag Superintendent of Police, Ajai Singh said, “We have given strict instructions to all police stations and posts to immediately register cases against any fraudulent activity. So far, four cases have been registered, one in Guptkashi police station and three in Phata police post.”
He further added, “This year the helicopter services are being provided from Guptkashi, Phata and Sonprayag to Kedarnath. We are getting information from our trusted sources that some of the tickets that GMVN has issued offline are being misused. One such case was reported in Guptkashi, when the nodal officer at the counter verified one such ticket and found it to be fraudulent. A case was registered under the section of 420 of the IPC.”
Giving information about another case he said, “One such case was registered on June 4. Complainant Vipin Yadav, a resident of Indore told us that they reached Phata and searched for online tickets. Then they got a call from someone, who told them that he can provide them with the tickets from Pawan Hans Private Limited. The complainant transferred Rs 31,800 for six tickets, after which he got a confirmation e-mail from Asian Holidays Agency, but he wasn’t provided with any ticket.”
He added, “In another case, again some agent who identified himself as Vivek Singh, took Rs 12,960 from the complainant Sweekriti Sharma, a resident of Gurugram, and provided her a helicopter ticket with the logo of Pawan Hans Private Limited on it. However, when she reached the helipad, the staff there told her about the ticket being invalid. Another case was registered by Vaibhav Kush. He told us that he confirmed his ticket through GMVN, which informed him that the flight timing was 12 pm. He complained that even after waiting for about five hours he wasn’t provided with a seat in the helicopter. He alleged that when he went to inquire about the delay, the helipad staff there misbehaved and threatened him. A case was registered under the sections 420, 504 and 506 of IPC. The cases are under investigation and strict action will be taken against those found guilty.”