EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

Agra has long been renowned for its con-tricksters, but over the past couple of years some dodgy operators in Taj Ganj have come up with a scam so cynical it makes phoney policemen and fake gemstone pedlars look pedestrian.

The first sign of something amiss is when, shortly after a meal at a Taj Ganj café, you suddenly fall ill. As luck would have it, the rickshaw-wallah taking you back to your hotel, or some other seemingly sympathetic person such as your hotel manager, happens to know a good doctor nearby, who makes a prompt diagnosis, checks you into his private "clinic" and prescribes some pills. While you're throwing up with a drip in your arm, he faxes your medical insurers and starts claiming a huge sum of money for daily health-care costs. What you don't know, though, is that the drugs you're taking are the reason why, days later, you're still ill, and that the "doctor" has all along been in cahoots with both the rickshaw driver and restaurant.

In November 1998, dozens of so-called "clinics" were raided and their records scrutinized after a young British couple who'd been poisoned went to the Agra press with their experience. The story was soon picked up by the national dailies in Delhi and an investigation begun, but so far no one has been convicted. This may sound like drastic advice, but all you can do until the police have caught up with the phoney doctors and their accomplices is avoid the restaurants in Taj Ganj (unless they're listed in our Eating reviews). Failing that, stick to your hotel restaurant (although some tourists have been poisoned in their own hotels) and if you do get sick, go to a reputable hospital, not a backstreet clinic (see Listings).

An information service ( www.agrapolice.com ) is provided by the local police department to warn visitors about corrupt businesses in the city.