Delhi: Man posing as UAE royal family staff enjoys 4-month-stay at 5-star hotel Leela Palace, leaves without paying bill worth ₹24 lakh

Delhi: A man named Md Sharif cheated the Leela Palace hotel in Delhi by posing as a staff of the UAE royal family. After enjoying a stay in the 5-star hotel for about four months, from August 1 to November 20, the man walked out of the hotel with unpaid bills and stole precious items from there.

Reportedly, the hotel's invoices record an outstanding amount of Rs. 23.46 lakh, apart from the amount associated with the stolen valuables. The hotel approached the police to notify them of the incident. The police were quoted in reports as saying that the man had paid a part of the bill during check out and later submitted a cheque that bounced.

The total bill of the room and other amenities added up to Rs 35 lakh. Police said Sharif paid almost Rs 11.5 lakh to stay at the hotel for a longer period but later left without paying a majority of the amount.

In their complaint, the management of the Leela Hotel claimed that the customer, who they identified as Md Sharif, claimed to be an employee of Sheikh Falah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family. A report in the indianexpress.com quoted police as saying that he produced a fake business card, UAE resident card, and other documents which are put under the legal scanner.

"One of our in-house guests has run off from the hotel on 20th November 2022 with valuables and also without settling his outstanding bills and has cheated The Leela Palace New Delhi of amount worth INR 23,46,413/- The guest checked into the hotel with a fake business card and had impersonated as an important functionary of the government of United Arab Emirates," reads the FIR in the case according to the Indian Express.

Police have booked the man for impersonation and theft. The team is taking the help of CCTV videos and noting other available details in order to search and nab him.