Travel agency man held for 'cheating' 32 pilgrims

Golam Kibria, arrested on Monday from Banargati in Khulna city on charge of misappropriating Tk 75.70 lakh from 32 hajj pilgrims, has been put on a five-day remand for interrogation in the case filed for fraud and embezzlement.
The arrestee is Khulna agent of a travel agency in Dhaka and proprietor of Tawakkul Homeo Hall on Islam Commissioner Road under Sonadanga police station in Khulna city.
Kibria and his associates have misappropriated Tk 75.70 lakh by deceiving 32 hajj pilgrims of Khulna city, said Mamun Khan, officer in charge of the police station.
Rafiuddin Ahmed, one of the 32 cheated hajj pilgrims, and a resident of Gagan Babu Road under Khulna Sadar police station, lodged an FIR with Sonadanga police station in this connection at 3:00pm on Monday.
Golam Kibria confessed to police during interrogation that he and his accomplices received Tk 75 lakh and 70 thousand from 32 people who wanted to perform the Hajj this year, police said.
SI Abdul Halim of the same police station has been made investigation officer of the case.
Rafiuddin Ahmed said in his FIR that he had paid over Tk 5 lakh to Golam Kibria to complete all the formalities for performing the Hajj this year.
But Kibria failed to provide the complainant with visa and other documents required for the purpose.
"Later, I asked Golam Kibria to refund the money but he and some of his men gave me death threat several times as I continued to press him for refunding my money," the complainant said in the FIR that was recorded as a regular case.