Fraudulent Umrah Pilgrimage Scheme: Man Receives 7-Year Sentence for Cheating Devotees of Rs 1.2 Crore
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Synopsis
A man in Bhubaneswar has been sentenced to seven years in prison for defrauding devotees of Rs 1.2 crore under the pretense of providing affordable pilgrimage services to Saudi Arabia for Umrah. The Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors Court delivered this verdict within three months after the charge sheet was filed.
Key Takeaways
- Individual sentenced to 7 years in prison.
- Convicted for defrauding Rs 1.2 crore.
- Speedy trial completed in 3 months.
- Victims included 189 devotees.
- Accused offered affordable packages for Umrah.
Bhubaneswar, March 28 (NationPress) The Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors (OPID) Court, Balasore has sentenced an individual to seven years of rigorous imprisonment for defrauding devotees of Rs 1.2 crore under the guise of offering affordable, secure, and safe pilgrimage arrangements to Saudi Arabia for Umrah.
The court issued its ruling in a remarkably short timeframe of three months after the charge sheet was submitted.
Furthermore, the convict, Nabeel Abdul Mubin Shaikh from Mumbai, has been ordered to pay a fine of Rs 2.75 lakh.
Failure to pay the fine will result in an additional 15 months of imprisonment.
According to a press statement from the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), the conviction was expedited, occurring only three months and five days after the charge sheet was filed and six months and fifteen days from the case registration.
The EOW apprehended Shaikh in Mumbai on September 27, 2024, based on a complaint lodged by Mir Khursid from Dhamnagar in Bhadrak district.
The case implicated the owners of ‘AlAdam Tour & Travels’, including Firdos Bi Abdul Mubin Shaikh, her son Nabeel Abdul Mubin Shaikh, daughter Saima Anjum Shaikh, and Md. Bismillah Shaikh, owner of Al-Izma Tours & Travels in Vikhroli Kurla, West Mumbai.
Between 2019 and 2023, the accused collected a total of Rs 1.2 crore from 189 devotees to facilitate their Umrah pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
However, they neither facilitated the pilgrimage nor refunded the amounts collected.
Investigations by the EOW revealed that from 2019 to 2023, the accused proprietors of M/s Al-Adam Tour & Travel Agency advertised on social media and distributed leaflets featuring appealing packages and contact information.
The accused lured Muslim devotees to take advantage of their offered tour packages priced at Rs 45,786 and Rs 50,786 per individual for the Umrah pilgrimage.
As a result, numerous devotees from Bhadrak, Balasore, Baripada, and other regions of Odisha deposited their respective amounts into the accounts specified in the advertisements via bank transfers, UPI, and even cash.
The convict and his mother are the authorized signatories of the accounts where the pilgrims' funds were deposited.
Collections by the owners of ‘Al-Adam Tour & Travels’ continued until the first half of 2023, after which the proprietors became unreachable after switching off their mobile phones.
The accused had issued cheques to some investors, but these cheques were subsequently dishonored by the bank.
