Ahmedabad: A Himmatnagar jeweller and his relatives have alleged that a travel agent cheated them of Rs 17.8 lakh after promising a Singapore-Malaysia tour for 10 people. He alleged that the agent shut his Chandkheda office after collecting the money and later stopped responding to calls.A complaint of cheating and breach of trust was filed on Thursday by the 35-year-old jeweller from Himmatnagar. According to the complaint, the group got in touch with the Chandkheda agent in April while planning a nine-day, eight-night Singapore-Malaysia trip.The agent allegedly quoted Rs 1 lakh per adult and Rs 35,000 for each child. For 10 members, including two relatives travelling from Australia, he quoted a total tour package of Rs 10 lakh.The complainant said the group paid Rs 3 lakh in cash on April 28. After the agent booked eight Indigo tickets for May 23, the group allegedly made further payments through UPI, NEFT and cash. An additional Rs 7.7 lakh was allegedly paid towards exchanging Indian currency into Singapore dollars.According to the complaint, the total payments made by the group amounted to Rs 17.8 lakh, including Rs 12.3 lakh through online transactions and Rs 5.4 lakh in cash.The group also handed over original passports, bank statements, photographs, salary slips and I-T return documents for visa processing, the complainant alleged.However, on May 12, the agent allegedly switched off his mobile. The next day, when the complainant and his relatives visited the Chandkheda office, they found it closed. The complainant alleged that the agent could not be contacted thereafter.The group allegedly made repeated attempts to recover the money. The agent reportedly told them that he would sell two shops in Ranip and repay them, but allegedly failed to return the money.
