Varanasi: Plans for expanding modern cruise services on the Ganga received a major setback when an alleged financial scam linked to a much-discussed project came to light. A case of fraud exceeding Rs.4crore has been registered against a private company from Kerala at Lanka police station. It is alleged that despite taking a large sum of money in the name of cruise construction, neither were the cruises completed within the stipulated time nor was the invested amount returned, causing serious financial loss to a local entrepreneur.According to reports, the company, Alaknanda Cruiseline Limited, owned by a local resident Vivek Malviya, operates tourism-based cruise services on the Ganga river. With the aim of expanding its business, the company had placed an order with Kochi-based Navalt Solar and Electric Boats Pvt Ltd for the construction of three modern cruises. This order was placed on Aug 1, 2022, with a total cost fixed at Rs5.6crore.Under the agreement, around Rs1.5crore was paid as advance on Aug 2, 2022 to confirm the order. As per the contract, two cruises were to be completed and delivered within seven months (by Mar 2, 2023). However, it is alleged that even after the deadline passed, not a single cruise was completed by the company and the project could not move forward.The aggrieved party said that whenever information was sought regarding the progress of construction work, the company kept citing various reasons and demanding additional funds in the name of extra expenses. During this period, Rs20lakh was also taken in the name of establishing a temporary shipyard in Ayodhya. According to documents, over Rs4crore had been paid to the company by Dec 27, 2023, yet the project failed to materialise on the ground.After a long wait of nearly 3.5 years, when neither were the cruises were completed nor did any concrete initiative for refund emerge, Vivek Malviya decided to take legal action. Lanka SHO Raj Kumar Sharma said that a case was registered on Apr 14 under section 316(5) (Criminal breach of trust) of BNS against the company’s directors Sandidh Thandasheri and Ramitha Madhu, along with Santosh Kumar Krishnan, Ajay Kumar C, Shyam TS, Jom Mathew, Karthik GR, LB Jay and Jitu Haridas.
