Service bell at a hotel reception. (Representative image)
Credit: iStock Photo
Mumbai: A 50-year-old German national was cheated by online fraudsters who offered him accommodation at 'Sahyadri', the Maharashtra government's swanky guest house in south Mumbai, police said on Tuesday.
Tostan Bake, the complainant, is an international tourist guide and arrived in India in April, said an official.
For the last two months he was living in Goa where he planned to set up a Yoga school, he told police. As Bake's business visa was expiring on September 20, he came to Mumbai on Monday for flying to Thailand.
Looking for accommodation for two days, he came upon a website that offered a room for Rs 9,270 at Sahyadri guest house at Malabar Hill. A man contacted him on WhatsApp and asked for advance payment.
Bake paid duly. After arriving at Sahyadri, he realized that it is not a commercial hotel, and he had been taken for a ride.
A case of cheating was registered against unidentified persons at Malabar Hill police station and probe was underway, said the official.