Dozens of intended pilgrims, belonging to various parts of the province, on Wednesday staged a protest demonstration against the fraudulent Hajj tour operators, demanding arrest of the swindlers. The protesting intended Hajis led by Haji Shahid, Inam Bangash, Sajjad Khan, Riaz Khan and Haji Ghafoor, dozens of people were gathered at main Saddar road in front of press club.
Amid chanting slogans, they were holding placards inscribed with slogans against the fraudulent Hajj tour operator of Hujjaj-e-Karwan travel agency, and in favour of their demands to arrest the culprits for deceiving them and swindling millions of rupees. Talking to media on the occasion, the protesting intended Hujjaj informed that Hajj tour operators Usman, Haji Bashir, Fahd, Haji Amjad and Muhammad Ali of the Karwan-Hujjaj travel agency took 4 lakh and eighty thousands rupees per intended Haji from more than 100 persons. The intended Hajis belonging to different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in which 14 persons of Tableeghi Jamaat were also included, they added.
They lamented that the fraudulent tour operators were disappeared before the date given to them. "We also tried to contact the tour operators but their office was shut down besides their cell phone was also switch off, the elder intended Hajjis lamented. Besides, the fraudulent operators also have given their home to influential mafia having arms and threatening us of dire consequences, they maintained. They appealed Chief Justice Peshawar High Court, Inspector General of Police and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to take notice of the fraud with over 100 intended Hajis, arrest the swindlers, and make alternate arrangements for them forthwith.