India establishes air travel bubbles with US, France, planning similar pact with Germany, UK
New Delhi: India has established individual bilateral bubbles with France and the US that will allow airlines of each country in the pact to operate international flights, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Thursday, adding that similar arrangement with Germany and the UK will soon be permitted.
Air France will be operating 28 flights between Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Paris from July 18 to August 1, the minister said at a press conference, adding that American carrier United Airlines will be flying 18 flights between India and the US from July 17 to July 31.
"They (United) are flying a daily flight between Delhi and Newark and a thrice-a-week flight between Delhi and San Francisco," Puri noted.
The minister said India is planning to establish a bubble with the UK soon under which there would be two flights per day between Delhi and London.
"We have got a request from Germans also. I think the arrangement with Lufthansa is almost done...We are processing that request," Puri said.
"Now we have many demands for air bubbles, but we need to be careful. We should permit that many only that we can handle," the minister noted.
From India, Air India will be operating flights to France and US under these bubbles.
An air bubble is a bilateral arrangement with a set of regulations and restrictions in which the carriers of the two countries can operate international flights.
Scheduled international passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
After nearly two months of suspension to combat the coronavirus outbreak, the government resumed scheduled domestic passenger flights on May 25.
However, it had then allowed the airlines to operate maximum 33 per cent of their pre-COVID domestic flights. The MOCA increased the limits on June 26 from 33 per cent to 45 per cent.
"We are assuming that by the time Diwali comes this year, we would have 55-60 per cent of pre-COVID domestic flights operating in India," Puri said at the press conference.
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Man arrested for duping Delhi resident of Rs 2 lakh in online car sale fraud
New Delhi (PTI): Police have arrested a 32-year-old man for allegedly duping a Delhi resident of Rs 2 lakh on the pretext of selling a second-hand car online, an official said on Saturday.
The accused, identified as Aman Sethi, a resident of Shiv Puri Extension in east Delhi, allegedly impersonated an employee of a reputed online car sale platform to gain the victim's trust, the police said.
The case came to light after a complaint was lodged by Harish, a resident of Trilokpuri, following which an FIR was registered on April 16 under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Sethi was arrested on Friday.
According to the complainant, the accused contacted the victim and offered to sell a second-hand car. He allegedly convinced him to transfer Rs 2 lakh as booking and processing charges.
After receiving the money, the accused neither delivered the vehicle nor refunded the amount and stopped responding to calls.
A police team conducted a detailed financial and technical investigation and traced the money trail to a bank account in the accused's name.
"Analysis of KYC details, account activity and digital footprints helped identify the suspect," a senior police officer said.
The police said the accused had vacated his known address and was evading arrest, but was eventually tracked down through technical surveillance and local intelligence after multiple raids in Delhi-NCR.
During interrogation, Sethi allegedly tried to mislead investigators but was confronted with evidence and subsequently arrested. Further probe revealed his involvement in a similar cheating case registered at the Krishna Nagar police station, indicating a pattern of such offences.
The police said the accused targeted people searching for second-hand cars online by posing as an employee of vehicle sale platforms, sharing photographs and details of vehicles, and demanding advance payments in personal bank accounts.
Two debit cards, two mobile phones and SIM cards allegedly used in the offence have been recovered from his possession, the police added.
