Gandhinagar, August 14, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Gujarat Police’s Cyber Centre of Excellence has arrested two men for allegedly running a nationwide network of more than 126 fake websites impersonating hotels, dharamshalas, ashrams and trusts, with complaints involving 21,985 citizens, officials said on Friday.
The arrests were made on Thursday following technical analysis and human intelligence gathered during an investigation conducted under the supervision of senior police officials.
The accused have been identified as 34-year-old Vikikumar Gupta, a Delhi-based digital marketing professional and web developer, and 24-year-old Shailesh Saini, 24, a competitive examination student from Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district.
According to police, the accused created websites using the names, photographs and designs of genuine accommodation facilities and religious institutions. They also allegedly created websites for establishments that did not have official online platforms, presenting themselves as authorised representatives and accepting room-booking enquiries.
The websites targeted tourists and pilgrims searching for accommodation at destinations across 11 states and Union Territories, including Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
The investigation identified 41 websites linked to locations in Gujarat, 18 in Andhra Pradesh, five each in Jammu and Kashmir and Karnataka, seven in Madhya Pradesh, eight in Maharashtra, six each in Odisha and Tamil Nadu, two in Uttar Pradesh, 27 in Uttarakhand and one in West Bengal.
The targeted locations included Somnath, Dwarka, Girnar, Palitana, Bhuj, Junagadh, Patan and Gandhinagar in Gujarat; Tirumala, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh; Katra; Ujjain; Juhu, Powai, Shirdi, Oshiwara and Shegaon; Jagannath Puri; Srirangam; Vrindavan; Rishikesh and Haridwar; and Kolkata.
Police said the accused promoted the websites through Google Search and advertisements. Customers looking for accommodation were asked to submit details including their names, mobile numbers and booking dates.
These booking enquiries were allegedly received by Gupta through his Gmail account. Police said he then forwarded the information to Saini through WhatsApp and other mobile numbers.
Saini allegedly contacted customers while posing as a reception manager or representative of the concerned establishment and collected advance payments for room bookings. The customers were allegedly not provided the accommodation they had booked.
Investigators found that Gupta retained technical access to the websites through C-Panel, enabling him to modify contact numbers and website content. A Google Sheet recovered from his laptop reportedly contained details of around 126 websites, while his mobile phone contained WhatsApp conversations, booking requests and C-Panel information.
Police said Gupta allegedly earned money by developing the websites, updating mobile numbers, providing search engine optimisation and running Google advertisements. He is also suspected of receiving a 35 per cent share from bookings made through some websites.
The investigation found that the websites were registered under multiple domain extensions, including .com, .co.in, .co, .org and .in.
Police have identified more than 70 complaints connected with the websites on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCCRP). The Cyber Centre of Excellence has registered a case and is continuing the investigation.
Three mobile phones and one laptop, collectively valued at Rs 29,000, have been seized.
According to the preliminary investigation, Gupta allegedly handled website development, technical control, booking information and its transfer to Saini, while Saini allegedly dealt directly with customers and collected advance payments.
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