Stayzilla CEO arrested on charges of Rs 1.7 crore fraud

CHENNAI: The Chennai police on Tuesday arrested CEO of online homestay booking market place

Stayzilla

on charges of defrau ding a client of Rs 1.72 crore. A team led by assistant commissioner of police S

Muthuvel Pandi

and inspector Anand Babu of the entrustment fraud wing of the central city crime branch questioned

Yogendra Vasupal

, who confessed to having defrauded advertising agency Jigsaw of Rs 1.72 crore. He will be produced before a magistrate court on Wednesday.

Started in 2005, Stayzilla recently shut down operations, saying it would have to rethink its business strategy . Claiming to be “India's number 1 homestay network“, Stayzilla had been struggling with cash flow problems for a few months.

Stayzilla co-founder

Sachit Singhi

alleged harassment from the advertising agency .“The calls started in December, when

Jigsaw Advertising

sought the influence of a local MLA.

The MLA 's aides started calling and harassing (Yogi) Vasupal and our staff. Some of the calls have been of a threatening nature, abusing Yogi and his family members.

Two days ago, his parents received a parcel at home to find a black magic sculpture with a photo of Yogi attached with a nail to its forehead,“ said Singhi in an email.Police also visited Stayzilla's Bengaluru office earlier, said Singhi. “Yogi asked them to leave as they had no warrant then,“ said Singhi.

Stayzilla had been facing declining bookings and lower commissions over the past year.In February, Vasupal had announced, “New bookings on all Stayzilla platforms are suspended. Bookings with check-in dates on or before 28th February 2017 will be honoured.“