87 Tourists Allegedly Cheated During Kaziranga Trip; Forced to Vacate Hotels

As many as 87 tourists who travelled to Assam to visit Kaziranga National Park have allegedly fallen victim to a travel agency fraud, leaving them stranded and forcing them to vacate their hotel rooms.

According to reports, a travel agency named ‘Soumi’, based in Murshidabad, West Bengal, allegedly collected advance payments from the tourists but failed to clear the hotel bills and transportation charges in Kaziranga.

Reportedly, the tourist group, which travelled from Murshidabad in several batches, had paid the agency a total of approximately Rs 9 lakh as per the agreement, with individual payments ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh.

However, the alleged irregularities came to light after the tourists arrived at the Green Reed Hotel in Kaziranga. Accommodation had been arranged for the group across several hotels in the area.

According to allegations, despite collecting money from the tourists, the travel agency failed to make payments to the hotel authorities and the owners of the hired vehicles. As a result, the tourists faced considerable hardship and were eventually forced to leave their hotel rooms due to unpaid bills.

Meanwhile, the hotel authorities reportedly detained the tour guide associated with the travel agency. The vehicles arranged for the tourists were also reportedly seized and kept over the outstanding payments.

The incident has caused considerable distress among the 87 tourists, who had travelled to Kaziranga for a holiday but found themselves in an unexpected crisis.

The alleged fraud has raised concerns over the conduct of travel agencies and the safety of tourists visiting Assam’s popular tourist destinations.