Surjit Singh

surjit.singh@htlive.com

AMRITSAR : A fake website claiming to help pilgrims with online registration to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur, in Pakistan through the newly opened visa-free corridor surfaced on Friday, seeking ₹500 per devotee as charges for filling the form.

As not many people are not fully aware of the procedure of online registration, Tajinder Singh of Kapurthala, who along with his friend wanted to undertake the pilgrimage through the corridor, said when he clicked on the site ‘kartarpursahib.in’ he was asked to pay ₹500 per pilgrim.

“When I began to proceed, my friend cautioned me that the website launched by the Union ministry of home affairs is ‘https://prakashpurb550.mha.gov.in. I escaped by a whisker from falling victim to cyber fraud,” Tajinder said.

On the site, “Sector 3, Noida” was mentioned as its office address.

When HT dialed one of the two mobile numbers given on the site, the person on the other end, a male, first asked as how many persons wanted to go to Kartarpur. One had to deposit the money (₹500 per pilgrim) through netbanking, or with debit or credit card first before proceeding further, he added.

After a few hours, the number went off. No one answered the other number despite repeated attempts. “Pay the non-refundable form filling amount of Rs 500 as our service fee to apply on behalf of you (this is extra apart from visa fee of USD 20 (sic)),” reads the section ‘procedure to apply’.

If the queries posted by the users on the website are of any indication, it is operational since November 4.

Atinderpal Singh, nodal officer for online registration in Gurdaspur district, said, “https://prakashpurb550.mha.gov.in is the only portal for this purpose.”

State jails and cooperation minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said he will bring the matter to the notice of the cyber crime cell for further action.

“This is a serious matter. We should be careful of such elements who want to exploit a situation wherein people have a little knowledge about the online registration process,” said Randhawa, also MLA from Dera Baba Nanak which has been connected to Kartarpur, the last resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak, through the corridor.

Low footfall on, 160 pilgrims on day 7

Low footfall continued on the Kartarpur corridor as only 160 pilgrims crossed over to Pakistan through the passage on Friday, seven days after pilgrimage started on November 9. On Thursday, the number of pilgrims was around 240.

HT Correspondent

letterschd@hindustantimes.com