Man who duped Delhi hotel of Rs 23 lakh held

New Delhi, January 22

The man who duped 5-star hotel The Leela Place in the national capital of over Rs 23 lakh was arrested by the Delhi Police. The accused, who has been identified as Mahamed Sharif, had impersonated as an important functionary of the Government of the United Arab Emirates. The perpetrator was arrested from his native place in Karnataka. The Delhi Police said he had been arrested based on technical surveillance.

The Delhi Police said Sharif had stayed at The Leela Palace, New Delhi, from August 1 to November 20 last year but left without settling his outstanding bills worth Rs 23,46,413.

Following the incident, the police registered an FIR on January 14 at the Sarojini Nagar police station on the complaint of Anupam Das Gupta, who claimed to be the General Manager of the hotel. The FIR has been lodged under Sections 419, 420 and 380 of the Indian Penal Code.

During the investigation, it was found that the accused checked in the hotel with a fake business card and impersonated as an important functionary of the Government of UAE. He also gave a resident card of the UAE on his arrival. During check-out, the accused had submitted a post-dated cheque worth Rs 20 lakh, but due to insufficient funds, the cheque bounced.

“The accused has already been produced before the designated court,” the police added.