Stayzilla CEO Yogendra Vasupal arrested on defrauding charges

Stayzilla, Chennai-based travel startup whose operations came to a halt last month, has run into fresh trouble.

Yogendra Vasupal, co-founder and CEO of Stayzilla, has been arrested by the commissioner of police in Chennai, after which he was sent to Puzhal prison, as per an ET source.

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As per co-founder Sanchit Singhi, Vasupal was not reachable after he last confirmed his location at the commissioner of police department in Chennai. He later sent a message to Singhi saying that his phone has been snatched.

Jigsaw Advertising had accused Stayzilla of fraud, which led to Vasupal's arrest.

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Singh also said that he received threats from the advertising firm, and a complaint has also been registered in Mylapore Police Station.

In a blog post on Medium, a platform for writers, Vasupal had claimed he was under duress, and that his politically influential landlord was asking immediate payment even though he had accepted a post dated cheque. The blog also said that the landlord has assaulted the admin staff and threatened to kill him.

CCTV videos of the scuffle were attached in the post.

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About the dispute with the media company, he said that, "I don't personally owe anybody money and I am wondering how can they get confused on such a basic matter as this was a clear civil case. I also pointed out that we have been asking the other company to take it to court if they felt they were wronged as we felt within our right."

Stayzilla had recently shut down its operations to rethink its business strategy; since its inception in 2005, it had raised about $34 million from investors like Matrix Partners India and Nexus Ventures Partners.

(Image source: YourStory)