An Indian citizen has been arrested for cheating UAE citizens by making false promises of Haj pilgrimage. According to the report on the action of Dubai Police, a 44-year-old Indian national has been arrested in a case of fraud of more than Rs 6 crore for Haj pilgrimage. A person arrested for allegedly defrauding 150 UAE citizens has been accused of taking an advance of Rs 6 crore from UAE citizens in the name of Haj pilgrimage.

According to media reports, Indian citizen Shabeen Rasheed duped 150 UAE citizens by promising them Haj pilgrimage, but it was never completed. Khaleej Times reported on Wednesday that Shabeen, who runs Sharjah-based Baitul Ateeq travel agency, was detained by Dubai Police earlier this month.

According to the news about the police action, Rashid apologized after his arrest. She claimed that the problems arose due to last-minute changes in visa issuance. Promising to refund the advance money taken from about 150 citizens, Shabeen said that the money received from reselling the accommodation booked for the passengers would be refunded.

The report about the arrest of the Indian in Dubai said that even after a long time, the money of the Haj pilgrims was not received back. Many more similar fraud incidents have been reported over the years. The victims lodged complaints against Rasheed, based on which he was arrested.

According to the report of news agency PTI, Dubai resident Saqib Imam is also among the victims who filed a complaint against Rashid. He said, he had paid 20 thousand dirhams for Haj around October last year. He said that so far he has received only 5,000 dirhams as refund.

A widow living in Sharjah had paid Dh1.30 lakh to go on Haj pilgrimage with her teenage son, the report said. The victim said that when she lodged the complaint, she got only 13 percent of her money (about 16,900 dirhams) back.

According to reports on Rasheed's arrest, it is not yet clear how many police complaints have been filed against the travel agency. Dubai Police has not released any official data regarding how many police complaints have been partially returned. According to media reports, Rasheed claimed to have returned the money of 20 people, but despite repeated requests from Khaleej Times, Rasheed failed to provide details like names and contacts.

Let us tell you that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Saudi Arabia had barred foreign pilgrims from performing Hajj in 2020 and 2021. Those who paid for Baitul Ateeq in 2020 claimed they received nothing but empty promises.