The victims of city-based tour operator Assets Tours and Travels who were allegedly duped in the name of a Holy Land pilgrimage protested at the Gopala-puram police station on Saturday seeking the intervention of the police and minority affairs department for the refund of the money they had paid. They also demanded that the police should counter the bails pleas of the accused.
Aeuriel Earl, a resident of Old Bowenpally who came to the police station along with other victims said, “So far there is no progress in the case. One of the accused is out on bail. The government promised to get our money back. There is no movement regarding that.” The police had booked a case in June against tour operators Francis Xavier, the owner of Assets Tours and his aide Prasanth, and had arrested them later.
Inspector P. Shiva Bhaskar said, “One of the accused named Prasanth is out on bail. We are going to file a petition seeking the cancellation of his bail. The other accused is still in jail. We will oppose his bail.”
Around 64 pilgrims were stranded from May 29 to June 5 as the hotel seized passports and threw them out as the agent hadn’t paid. Apart from paying Rs 65,000 each the group spent USD 7,000 on their own pockets.