Odisha Man Scammed Of Rs 60K While Booking Room At Puri Panthaniwas

Rourkela: A resident of Rajgangpur in Odisha’s Sundargarh district allegedly fell victim to fraud and lost Rs 60,300 while booking accommodation at Panthaniwas.

According to sources, Amit Majhi (30) of Bantupada under Rajgangpur police limits received a message on March 5 from an unknown number on WhatsApp, informing that a room costing Rs 3,500 at Panthaniwas in Puri was available at 20% discount.

Since he was planning a trip to Puri, he called the number and expressed his interest in reserving a room. After the 20% discount was applied, he transferred Rs 2,800 from his account and asked for confirmation that his room was booked. However, the person on the other end informed Amit that he needed to pay Rs 3,500 upfront to qualify for the 20% discount and would receive a refund of Rs 700 along with his initial Rs 2,800 payment. Following this, Amit sent Rs 3,500 to their account. Subsequently, he received a confirmation bill for a room reservation at Panthaniwas. Later, he got another call from the same number, where the caller instructed him to click on a link to retrieve his money. As soon as Amit clicked the link, Rs 54,000 was deducted from his account. He called them back to inquire about the unexpected debit and pressed for a refund. The man assured him that he would receive his money once the server resumed functioning. Amit then received another call claiming that they could not process his refund due to server issues. After waiting three days without receiving his money, Amit realised he had been scammed as his subsequent calls went unanswered. 

On Saturday, Amit lodged a complaint at Rajgangpur police station. “We have written to the bank to provide the statement of the complainant and have also asked for the call record details,” TOI reported, quoting IIC of Rajgangpur police station M R Pradhan.