An image of the suspect, Bharat Kumar Sharma, on an online channel.
Credit: YouTube/Suman TV
Bengaluru: At least seven people in Bengaluru were defrauded of over Rs 15 lakh by a Hyderabad-based "tour operator", who promised to arrange their Kailash Mansarovar yatra in Tibet, which is under China's autonomous governance.
The HAL police registered a case on October 5 following a complaint from one of the victims, Swapna Suresh.
According to 43-year-old Swapna, she first reached out to the suspect, Bharat Kumar Sharma of Gayatri Tours and Travels, in March 2023 after seeing his advertisement for the tour on YouTube's ‘Suman TV’ channel.
Sharma explained the travel packages and batch schedules, quoting Rs 2.28 lakh per person, which was later increased to Rs 2.36 lakh, citing a rise in costs.
Interested in the tour, Swapna registered for the May 31, 2023, batch, and initially paid Sharma Rs 25,000 as an advance. “On April 30, 2023, after attending a demo session, I paid an additional Rs 1 lakh in cash. We were then awaiting the necessary travel permits and visas for the trip,” Swapna informed the police.
On May 21, Sharma informed Swapna of delays in the tour, attributing them to pending travel permits from Tibet/China. By June 10, he claimed the permits had been issued, shared copies with her and requested the remaining payment, which she sent to secure her place in the June 28 batch.
In early August, Sharma told the victims that China would not be issuing visas.
When Swapna requested a refund, Sharma became unresponsive and offered various excuses. Later, he informed her of a Rs 18,500 cancellation fee, though she disputed this. On September 5, she received a partial refund of Rs 59,500, leaving Rs 1.76 lakh outstanding.
The FIR also lists payments owed to other victims, including Rs 3.37 lakh to MG Prashada and Hemalatha, Rs 1.68 lakh to Sreepriya Rajesh, Rs 1.76 lakh each to Hema Laxmikanth and Shylaja Pradeep, and Rs 4.84 lakh to Yarram Reddy Srinivasa Rao and his family, who are friends and acquaintances of Swapna. “Even they received only partial refunds,” she reported.
A police officer told DH that they have discovered similar cases against Sharma in Hyderabad, and an investigation is underway to locate him.