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Delhi, Uttarakhand police bust helicopter ticket scam targeting Himalaya pilgrims
A retired person in Hyderabad lost Rs200,000 recently. He came across an ad offering tickets for helicopter rides to Kedarnath from someone who claimed to be an official
- PUBLISHED: Thu 2 Jul 2026, 4:57 PM
Authorities warned scammers are increasingly targeting pilgrims bound for Kedarnath, the popular shrine at 3,580 metres in the Garhwal Himalayas of India's Uttarakhand state, by selling fake helicopter tickets and swindling victims out of hundreds of thousands of rupees.
The latest case uncovered by Delhi Police involved a government official who was duped into buying two helicopter tickets that turned out to be fake.
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The police have arrested a few persons connected with the racket and hope to nab the top cybercriminals operating the rackets. The scammers tempt pilgrims (including many NRIs) by offering them a “divine journey to four sacred Himalayan abodes”, with packages ranging up to nearly Rs100,000 (about Dh3,850).
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The latest victim got two e-tickets on WhatsApp and Gmail after paying a hefty sum to the operators. But at the helipad in Uttarakhand, the regular chopper operator refused to allow him to board as the tickets were fake.
The Delhi police then sent a team to Uttarakhand where they managed to nab the criminals from Bihar and other places. The special task force of Uttarakhand police also busted a cyber fraud recently. Officials of the state police and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre cracked down on the illegal operation from Bihar, where fake accounts and websites lured pilgrims to book choppers on their sites.
A retired person in Hyderabad lost Rs200,000 (about Dh7,700) recently. He came across an ad offering tickets for helicopter rides to Kedarnath. The person claimed to be an official of government-owned Pawan Hans, a helicopter service and sought money from the Hyderabad client.
After being fleeced, he filed a complaint with the cyber crime police. Officials have warned pilgrims to book chopper rides only through the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority web site and avoid clicking on other sites for bookings.
Four pilgrim sites
Millions of Indians travel to four pilgrim sites – Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri, Yamunotri – in Uttarakhand for the ‘Chardham Yatra’ season, which is open between May and October. Many elderly visitors and NRIs from the Gulf and other parts of the world, opt for the chopper services.
On Wednesday, authorities in Uttarakhand said that helicopter services for Kedarnath dham yatra has been suspended with the onset of the monsoon season.
Vishal Mishra, the district magistrate of Rudraprayag, told reporters that all the helicopters have returned to their bases. “During the monsoon season, pilgrims will have to rely on alternative modes such as ponies, mules and palanquins,” he said.
