Kedarnath Helicopter Fraud: Be Aware Of Kedarnath Yatra

Introduction to Kedarnath Helicopter Ticket Fraud

Visiting the Kedarnath temple is a dream for almost every Hindu in India and abroad. It's a beautiful location, and its glorious history attracts everyone. Kedarnath temple is located at an altitude of 3583 meters above sea level in the mid-Himalayan ranges in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand. The last motorable road for the Kedarnath temple is till Gaurikund, and outside vehicles are allowed only till Sonprayag. After reaching Gaurikund, all devotees are supposed to trek for about 16 km to complete their Kedarnath Yatra. Some even claim that this trekking route is no less than 22 km on one side. In addition to the lengthy trekking route to Kedarnath is very tough with a stiff slope. These facts make the Kedarnath temple inaccessible for many devotees. To help those devotees who can't trek for so long Indian government started the Kedarnath Helicopter services. These helicopter services are operating from three different locations at the base camp, i.e. Phata, Sersi, and Guptkashi. Every year, 9 to 10 companies operate from these helipads to facilitate devotees to reach their dream destination. IRCTC is the only company that is authorised to book helicopter tickets through the online website https://heliyatra.irctc.co.in/. No other website is authorised to book tickets on behalf of IRCTC or book helicopter tickets for the Kedarnath yatra.

But some bad elements of our society have found a big gap in monstrous demand and marginal supply. So they started taking advantage of this loophole as devotees were ready to pay anything to get a Kedarnath helicopter ticket, as booking it online is near to impossible for them.

Before going ahead, I would like to draw your attention to some of the news clips published in different newspapers about some of the recent Kedarnath Helicopter Ticket frauds.

Note:- Kedarnath yatra package available. Check it now!!

Links:-

News 1) Couple duped by cyber fraudsters running fake site for Kedarnath helicopter service by Hindustan Times

New 2) Beware of Fake Heli Ticket Booking Websites: Uttarakhand STF Busts Fraud Gang by Cyber Yodha

New 3) Fake Char Dham helicopter service booking websites mushroom, eight blocked by Times of India

New 4) Delhi: Fake helicopter ticket booking racket busted; 4 held by India Today

There are many other news stories about the Kedarnath helicopter ticket fraud that you can find on your own by searching on Google.

Note:- Kedarnath yatra package cost INR 9500 per person from Haridwar to Haridwar. Check it now!!

Sting Operation of Manchala Mushafir Team:-

For your safety, team Manchala Mushafir did a sting operation to learn more about the techniques used by fraudster for Kedarnath helicopter ticket fraud. Here are some of the screenshots of the fraudsters' chat. You can refer them to learn more about how they perform this crime and convince innocent devotees to cheat them

kedarnath helicopter ticket fraud, payment sample sent by fraudsters

Payment Screenshot, which they had sent us to convince us that they genuinely provide Kedarnath helicopter service tickets and many people have already paid them

message sample sent by fraudsters of Kedarnath helicopter ticket

Screenshot of messages the Kedarnath helicopter ticket fraud team uses to send

How to protect yourself from getting trapped in Kedarnath Helicopter Ticket fraud?

Step 1) The Golden rule to remember is that only IRCTC is authorised to book helicopter tickets for Kedarnath. No other company is authorised to book its ticket. If anyone is claiming that he/she can provide you with a ticket from the back side or any other method, be assured that they are making a false promise.

Step 2) Even if someone is assuring you that he/she can provide you ticket, ensure paying him/her in cash either by visiting their office on your own or by sending someone to his / her registered office and getting your ticket at the same time.

Step 3) If you can't go to his registered office or send anyone to his registered office, try to deposit the amount in his / her bank account by visiting your bank branch and verifying the account holder before transferring any amount to him or her. Never transfer any amount to anyone's savings account. The current account is always of a business, and banks generally verify the registered office of the company before opening its current account.

Step 4) If he/she send you a ticket online, please get it verified before sending any money to them. Call the IRCTC customer care on their helpline number (1800110139, 0755 6698100, 0755 4090400) or email them at heliyatra@irctc.co.in instantly and tell them your ticket number, and they will confirm whether your ticket is valid or it's a trap of Kedarnath helicopter ticket fraud.

Step 5) In case you can't follow any of the above steps and still wish to get a helicopter ticket for Kedarnath, and you are ready to take a chance, then try to pay them by credit card. It's easy to trace money on a credit card in comparison to a debit card. If Kedarnath helicopter ticket fraud happens to you, don't forget to report it to the cybercrime and your local police station. The first 24 hours are considered to be a golden period, and it has great chance that authorities can locate your amount and arrest the culprit.

Step 6) Please note that a side helicopter ticket is not available online. But in most cases, we have seen Kedarnath helicopter ticket fraudsters offer one-sided tickets to devotees.

Banking facts:-

You may feel assured while transferring money online that all its details are with me, and we can track him/her at any point in time with these details. But do you know that only the correct account number is sufficient to transfer money to any account from your UPI apps? The account holder's name, IFSC code, branch name, etc, could be wrong. Fraudsters use this loophole a lot by giving you the Account holder's name as any reputed helicopter company operator, local branch as Phata / Guptkash / Sersi, and similarly wrong IFSC code. You trust them and transfer a huge amount to their account without any second thought.

Conclusion:-

The golden rule to protect yourself from Kedarnath helicopter ticket fraud is that only IRCTC has the authority to book a helicopter ticket for the Kedarnath yatra, and that too online from the website https://heliyatra.irctc.co.in/. No other website is authorised to book a ticket for this. So always be aware and be safe.