Duped city soccer fans stranded in Germany

Saibal Sen / TNN / Jun 30, 2006, 03:11 IST

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Thirty soccer lovers from the city who paid several crores to watch the World Cup finals are stranded in Frankfurt - the victims of a fraud by a travel agency.

Duped city soccer fans stranded in Germany

KOLKATA: Thirty soccer lovers from the city who paid several crores to watch the World Cup finals are stranded in Frankfurt — the victims of a fraud by a travel agency. Over 100 people have been cheated.
The list includes Kolkata's who's who, including some famous sports personalities. After UK, this is the second ticket fraud to hit World Cup fans.It was detected on Thursday by the first batch of Kolkatans who landed in Frankfurt.
The rest, set to leave on July 1, have cancelled their tour. Police sources said travel agency 'Endeavour' (located at Shakespeare Sarani) had promised a dream World Cup package — tickets to the quarter finals, semi- and finals, apart from sightseeing, travel arrangements, local commuting and hotel accommodation.
The owner reportedly told the victims that they'd get their tickets once they set foot in Germany. Most refused to take the bait. Football coach Amal Dutta being one. The owner then flew to London on June 19 and came back with some tickets.

He told the others, they'd get theirs once they reached Germany, police said. But all the tickets were fake. Now, the 30 people are stranded in Germany.
They took little money along because they were told all their necessities would be taken care of. Their families have been advised to inform the Indian embassy in Frankfurt to arrange for their return. "I've come to know of it verbally.
An official complaint will soon be lodged. Before that is made, nothing can be said," said DC (south) Ajoy Kumar, adding that the detective department may take over the case.

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