A barren beauty of Kashmir, Ladakh is one of the most popular dream destination for motorcycle tours and the craze has grown bigger since last decade. The Bollywood film industry has much to contribute to this growing craze thanks to movies like the Amir Khan starrer ‘3 Idiots’, where the challenging altitude of the plateaus and the rugged terrains have beguiled travelers from around the globe. A majority of the travelers today make a plan to take a trip to Ladakh but a trip to Ladakh could be very expensive.
Nevertheless you can travel at a moderate budget as well with some proper planning and finding the right kind of guidance or travel agency. So naturally, when an enticing advertisement pops up out of nowhere on the social media promising “Delhi to Leh Biking Package for 12 Days / 11 Nights at Sub-thirty Thousand Bucks”, it felt like a dream finally going to come true.
Even Anunoy Samanta and 16 other travel enthusiasts got excited when they came across one such post like this. But who would have thought the next destination of their dream ride would be in a world of nightmare. Yes that’s right, Anunoy and the 16 other fellows never had thought that they would soon walk into a fraudulent trap laid out by the Noida FM Group (synonymous to the FM Rooms).
Mixed with feelings of frustration and vengeance, Anunoy returns back to his hometown. The wounds of betrayal are still fresh and the financial and psychological loss has caused much damage to them. Cheated of their trust, the 17 angry young travelers now seek for revenge and that is to expose the ugly face of the FM Group and its associates. Here’s a look into how the 17 young enthusiasts were fraudulently driven to the laid trap of deception.
The Planning
Most of the communication that the travelers had with the travel agents were either via Whatsapp, telephone or Facebook Messenger. And the people who corresponded with them were–
Mr. Arun Chaudhary AKA Mr. Prince – According to Anunoy, the man introduced himself as the proprietor of FM Group and an ex-Captain of the Indian Army who had to reluctantly retire after getting injured at the Kargil War. That’s where he laid the bait. You see Anunoy (and probably most) got highly impressed and started to trust.
Ms. Chandani Mishra – The second one in the line is Ms. Chandani Mishra who self-proclaimed herself as the daughter of Mr. Arun Chaudhary. When Mr. Arun could not be reached, Anunoy had contact her through Facebook Messenger. It was then that she brought a third person into the foreground, which takes us to the next name on the list.
- Mode of Communication with Ms. Chandani Mishra – Facebook Messenger.
Mr. Deepak Sharma – He introduced himself as Mr. Arun Chaudhury’s business partner and would mostly keep the conversation alive through telephone and Whatsapp.
The Proposed Itinerary
Here’s a list of what the proposed itinerary looked like –
Day 1 – Delhi to Manali. Overnight travel in Volvo bus
Day 2 – Manali city tour on motorbikes. Overnight stay at tourist lodge
Day 3 – Manali – Rohtang Pass – Keylong/ Jispa ride. Overnight stay in hotel/camp
Day 4 – Keylong / Jispa – Baralacha Pass – Sarchu ride. Overnight stay in camp
Day 5 – Sarchu-Leh ride. Overnight stay at guest house/hotel
Day 6 – Leh-Nubra ride. Overnight stay in Nubra
Day 7 – Nubra – Pangong lake ride. Overnight stay in Pangong
Day 8 – Pangong lake – Tso Moriri lake ride. Overnight stay in camp
Day 9 – Tso Moriri lake –Sarchu ride. Overnight stay in camp
Day 10 – Sarchu – Manali ride. Overnight stay in hotel.
Day 11 – Departure from Manali. Overnight travel in Volvo bus.
Day 12 – Tour Wind up after reaching Delhi.
The Package
The total package cost of the trip is –
- 23,000 INR + 5% tax per person (triple sharing package)
- 28,000 INR + 5% tax per person (double sharing package)
Departure Date –1st August, 2017
Package Included – Breakfast, Volvo Bus Tickets, Dinner, Inner Line Permits, Wildlife Fees for Restricted Area, Services of Certified and Experienced Guides, Basic First-aid Medicines Kits, Services of Wilderness Medical Institute Certified Guides, Services of Royal Enfield Trained Specialist Mechanic, One Backup Jeep, and Royal Enfield 350cc Motorcycle with Fuel.
The Payment Process
The travelers had to pay the entire amount in two installments via IMPS (Immediate Payment Service). An offer mail clearly stated that the travelers needed to pay 50% of the package cost 20 days before the commencement of the trip, while the rest 50% had to be settled prior to the commencement of the trip.
However, in the middle of the first week of July, the man named Mr. Arun calls up Anunoy to insist on transferring the entire package fee that day itself. The explanation was that the growing demand of clients and possibility of hike on account of the implementation of GST.
Poor judgement or the enchanting spell cast by the thought of visiting Ladakh, Anunoy ended up obeying and paying the rest of the payment. It took them 2 weeks to send the e-invoice. Many of you might be questioning Anunoy’s mental acuity for transferring such a large sum of money to someone whom he had never met before. Nevertheless, situations arrive when even our best judgements fail to make the best impression and Anunoy had reasons to explain why his logical brain failed to get over the emotional side –
A Cheaper Package – The FM Group were offering a much cheaper package compared to the package offered by other tour operators. Anunoy got easily convinced when Mr. Arun told him that it was a corporate sponsored trip.
The Behavior of a Gentleman – Mr. Arun had the perfect recipe of a con artist – that is, was very frank, well-spoken and always ready to respond to any conversation.
Immense Respect for Army Personnel – Like most of us, Arun too had a soft corner for army personnel. Arun’s repetitive reference to army background and Kargil War made him appear as a genuine man.
The Twist
Just five days before the commencement of the Ladakh trip, the travelers where informed of a change in plan. This was conveyed through Whatsapp and the excuse was on account of monsoon struck patches of the Manali-Leh highway.
This is what the revised itinerary looks like –
Day 1 – Flight from Delhi to Leh and then check in to Leh Hotel
Day 2 – Bike Ride to Nubravia Khardung La Top and then to Paramount Camp Nubra. Travelers will take some rest and then enjoy Turkish camel ride on the Hunder dunes in the evening. Night stay in camp.
Day 3 – Start from Turtuk, the last point of the Chinese border. Night stay at Nubra camp.
Day 4 – Ride from Nubra to Leh via Diskit Monastery
Day 5 – Ride to Pangong Lake. Camp night at Pangong Lake
Day 6 – Ride to Moriri Lake. Camp night at Moriri
Day 7 – Ride to Tso Kar. Camp night
Day 8 – Ride to Leh. Camp night in Leh
Day 9 – Ride to Kargil via Magnetic hill where travelers will have to spend the night
Day 10 – Return from Leh
Day 11 – Local sightseeing at Leh and then return to Delhi
The D-day and the Disappointment
Day 1 – The travelers reached Delhi and checked in at Hotel Raj Villa in the Paharganj area, where they were informed that their flight was booked for the next morning. [TWIST ALERT]
Mr. Arun was supposed to join the rest of the team but he did not and there was no more any update from him either.
The travelers had to pay for their dinner [DISAPPOINTMENT ALERT]
Around 2 AM (past midnight) Arun gives a call asking for an extra loan of Rs 2,000 from each of the travelers, which he promised to return back the following morning once they landed in Leh. [TWIST ALERT]
Day 2 – The daughter comes in. Mr. Arun introduced us to Ms. Chandani who would be escorting them to Ladakh for the rest of the trip. [TWIST ALERT]
The early morning flight to Leh was a disappointment. The travelers had to wait for 45 minutes for their pickup at the Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport.
Ms Chandani desperately called up her contacts for a pickup through a BSNL postpaid phone, which she repeatedly borrowed from one of the travelers named Yasin.
The travelers finally reached Hotel Mount Castle. It was a sudden change in altitude here since Leh is situated 3,250 meters above sea level. The travelers needed to acclimatize themselves. Instead, MsChandani informed the travelers that they needed to get ready for their ride to Nubra via Khardung La Top after they have finished their breakfast. [DISAPPOINTMENT ALERT]
After much insistence, Ms Chandani finally managed to get the hotel management to open two rooms so that the travelers could atleast use the washrooms.
Even the breakfast was a big disappointment. After four hours of waiting, the travelers were given plain paratha with pickle.
It was also clearly evident that the hotel management was not expecting or happy with their sudden arrival.
Around 1:30 PM, the travelers finally left the hotel to begin their journey. Even during motorcycle allotment, the travelers had to face much chaos, during which Ms Chandani was nowhere to be found.
Anunoy recounted how he had to beg with the bike vendor for a proper bike. The travelers had to wait to wait for Ms Chandani at the petrol pump for another hour. The weather had also started to grow worse. It was raining by then.
The explicit management and the increased altitude had increased enough negativity in the minds of the travelers. Realizing the impending non-cooperation, Ms Chandani immediately connected Anunoy with Mr. Arun. He apologized for the inconvenience caused and promised that the travelers would not be facing anything regretful.
However, after that the scenario turned worse. The travelers suffered zero medical support, inconvenient travel conditions, inadequate space in the back-up vehicle (especially in situations where the riders fell sick) and extreme level of unsympathetic approach whenever Anunoy pointed out the follies of Ms Chandani.
By 4:30 AM, the travelers arrived at Nubra completely exhausted, with no food or assistance waiting for them.
Since then, the revised itinerary was completely ignored and moments of twists and disappointments became infinite. The travelers were getting used to the callousness and inefficiency of the tour operators. They managed to wind up our ride to Nubra, Pangong, Tso Moriri and Tso Kar to return back to Leh.
On the 9th day of the trip, the travelers reached the zenith of their frustration. They demanded the money that they had paid as loan to Mr. Arun (Rs. 2000), which was not returned back to the travelers. Moreover there were many instances of failed commitment. Like for instance, Ms Chandani borrowed Rs. 20,000 from one of the co-travelers to refuel the back-up vehicle.
The travelers made it clear to both Ms Chandani and Mr Arun that they would continue their journey only after their money was returned back.
The travelers kept waiting at the hotel Mount Castle till afternoon when they were informed that Ms. Chandani escaped. The travelers were left behind to face their respective fates.
Guided by the hotel owner, the travelers drove to a local police station to lodge a complaint. After listening to their story, the police refused to take any written complaint and shifted the blame on the travelers for getting conned.
Even the hotel and the motorcycle vendors refused to let go without getting their dues cleared. This time the police were on the side. What followed after that was complete extortion by the bike-rental vendor Glacier Trek-n-Tour. The travelers had to pay double the price. The entire chain of events got few of the travelers psychologically traumatized. They decided to immediately book their Leh-Delhi flight the following morning.
So did they take any action after returning to Delhi?
Anunoy confesses that they took action, many of which are beyond the scope of this article. However, the FM group could not be traced after that. They could not recover the lost money either.
Every year, thousands of crores of rupees get stolen through various scams. Anunoy writes this article to expose the dark face of the FM Group and to warn travelers of such similar cons. Most of the details had been trimmed off to get the article published. But you are always welcome to approach Anunoy and learn more about the incident.
You can find the original post of Anunoy in his travel blog Clicking Photos which was published on 14th August, 2017.
You can also read the latest post of Anunoy regarding the incident
Moral of the Story
- Beware of Tour Operators offering packages at surprising low price
- Do not trust anyone whom you have never met or don’t have any proof
- Always cross-check more than one tour operators
Note: All information were collected from the original post. We, Top Five Buzz is not responsible for any kind of discrepancy with this incident. We, Top Five Buzz only spreading awareness to our readers and fellow travelers.
