Finance
With the world-famous Puri Rath Yatra 2026 just days away, the Odisha Police has stepped up efforts to protect devotees not only on the land, but also in cyberspace, initiating the ‘Cyber Saathi’ campaign to combat online fraud against pilgrims and tourists.
As part of the campaign, the CID-Crime Branch shut down nine phony hotel booking websites and blacklisted 16 fraudulent URLs that were reportedly distributing false information about the Rath Yatra and defrauding people in the name of hotel reservations and prasada dana (donations).
The campaign was initiated jointly by the CID Crime Branch and Puri Police in response to the increased cyber security concerns during the yearly festival, which draws lakhs of devotees from throughout the country and overseas. In addition to taking action against bogus websites, the police are raising awareness among tourists, devotees, hotel owners, and local people about numerous online scams related with the festival.
A Crime Branch team investigated seven prominent hotels in Puri, educated hotel management on bogus hotel booking scams, and performed security checks on their websites to boost cyber security measures and prevent fraudsters from misusing them.
The Odisha Police has asked devotees and visitors to exercise caution when making hotel reservations and to book only through reputable and trustworthy platforms. It has also urged the people to closely adhere to cyber safety standards and verify the legitimacy of websites before making online purchases to prevent falling victim to cyber fraud during the Rath Yatra.
