Man Detained For Duping Hajj Pilgrims From Odisha

Sambalpur: A man in Sambalpur district allegedly duped several people from the Muslim community of lakhs of rupees on the pretext of taking them to Hajj pilgrimage. The accused Abdul Rahim, a resident of Kumbharpada in the city, had promised several people for Umrah, pilgrimage to Mecca and Madina through a Chhattisgarh-based travel agency. Rahim had allegedly taken money in advance from the interested people.

As Rahim did not fulfil his promise, people started demanding their money back. Citing that the travel agent had fled with the money, Rahim allegedly refused to refund money to the parties who paid advance to him. Finding no other way out, the duped people subsequently caught hold of the accused and handed him over to Dhanupali police.

“I had paid Rs 36,000 to Abdul Rahim for Umrah pilgrimage of my father one year back. When we sought refund of our money, he refused to pay,” said Abdul Shajid, a complainant.

Ramiz Raja, another complainant, said, “We paid in advance to Abdul Rahim for the pilgrimage for 15 days. Though he had assured to refund our money in December, he refused to refund money and even threatened us.”

Additional SP Sambalpur, PK Mohapatra said, “It is not confirmed how many people have been duped by the accused so far. We are preparing a list in this regard. How much money he has duped and the involvement of other persons is also being verified.”