Cyber Police Team constituted to curb cyber fraud in online bookings of heli-tickets
By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 8 Apr: Char Dham Yatra is set to commence with the opening of the sacred portals of Gangotri and Yamunotri Dham on 30 April, followed by the opening of the portals Kedarnath Dham on 2 May. In conjunction with this, heli services for Kedarnath will also become operational. The online booking process for these services has begun from today. During the first phase of online booking of heli services, tickets can be booked for travel from 2 May to 31 May.
Each year, heli services begin with the opening of the portals of Kedarnath Dham, allowing the devotees to conveniently access the revered pilgrimage site. This season, heli services will be operating from Guptkashi, Sirsi, and Phata helipads. The pilgrims would be able to book their tickets online via the official IRCTC website, heliyatra.irctc.co.in.
Pilgrims travelling by heli service this year will need to pay a higher fare than last year. When the tender for heli services was floated in 2023, it included provisions for a five percent annual increase in fares. Accordingly, this year, the fare for Kedarnath travel has been revised, with the rate for a return journey from Sirsi set at Rs 6,061, from Phata at Rs 6,063, and from Guptkashi at Rs 8,533. Passenger registration has been made mandatory for booking heli tickets.
At the same time, as the bookings commence, cyber fraudsters have also started preying on unsuspecting pilgrims online. Last year, cyber police had shut down 85 fraudulent websites and 45 deceptive Facebook pages. It is pertinent to remind here that the heli tickets are exclusively booked via the IRCTC website, as the government had assigned the booking responsibility to IRCTC last year. This year, the same protocol remains in place, with booking available solely on www.heliyatra.irctc.co.in. It may be noted also that, while the official website does not provide a mobile number, fraudulent websites and social media advertisements display contact numbers to lure people into scams.
Pilgrims planning to travel to Kedarnath by helicopter need to exercise caution against cyber frauds. Even a minor lapse can result in financial losses. To counter online fraud, a four-member cyber police team has been deployed this year under the supervision of CO Cyber Ankush Mishra. In 2023 alone, more than 40 cases of such scams were registered across various police stations in Uttarakhand, with most victims being from outside the state. The modus operandi of cybercriminals includes creating counterfeit websites identical to the official IRCTC site to mislead the pilgrims. To curb such activities, cyber police began cracking down last year, and by June 2024, as many as 82 fake websites were taken down, along with 45 fraudulent Facebook pages promoting heli services through misleading advertisements.
SSP STF Navneet Bhullar has confirmed the formation of a four-officer team at the cyber police station this year, which has been tasked with closely monitoring fraudulent websites and misleading advertisements on social media. The team, supervised by CO Cyber Ankush Mishra, has been instructed to focus on social media vigilance to raise early awareness among potential travellers. Efforts are underway to shut down as many fraudulent sites as possible, and the police plan to conduct online awareness campaigns to educate the public against cyber fraud.
