Hotel booking fraud hits Mayapur in pilgrim season
Times of India | 17 January 2026
Kolkata: With the festival season nearing and pilgrim arrivals increasing, devotees of Iskcon are being targeted by online fraudsters running a coordinated accommodation scam in Mayapur. The racket has already duped visitors from India and overseas, exploiting the urgency of last-minute bookings and the trust associated with Iskcon-linked names. Iskcon Mayapur has lodged an FIR over the fraud, and the complaint has been taken up for investigation by law enforcement authorities.
Iskcon Kolkata vice-president Radharamn Das said the matter had been escalated to the highest levels. "This is a serious criminal exploitation of faith and trust. Not only devotees but general visitors from around the world are being financially and emotionally devastated. Iskcon Mayapur has filed an FIR. Until these fraudsters are stopped, public awareness is the strongest protection," Das said.
According to Iskcon officials, the fraudsters have created multiple fake websites and WhatsApp-based booking channels, falsely claiming to provide rooms in prominent Mayapur facilities such as Prabhupad Village, Isodyan, Gada Bhavan, Conch Bhavan and Gita Bhavan. Iskcon authorities flagged www.prabhupadvillage.com as one such unauthorized website, adding that several similar portals are operating with the same modus operandi. "These websites look professional and convincing. They offer rooms during peak festival periods, sometimes promising discounts or special benefits, and then disappear after collecting the full payment," Das said.
Iskcon has clarified that the only official and authorized website for booking accommodation in Iskcon Mayapur is www.visitmayapur.com and warned that bookings made through other websites, agents, WhatsApp numbers or phone calls are unauthorized and unsafe. Temple officials said the impact has been especially distressing during peak festival periods when rooms are scarce. Families, including elderly devotees and children, have arrived after long journeys — sometimes from abroad — only to discover that their "confirmed" bookings never existed and the money paid is unrecoverable in many cases.
Iskcon has urged devotees and visitors to verify bookings strictly through the official portal and to spread awareness so that a spiritual visit to Mayapur is not turned into financial loss and trauma by cyber fraudsters.