A man, who posed as an employee of the Abu Dhabi royal family, fled The Leela Palace in New Delhi, leaving behind a bill amounting to ₹23,46,413 (AED103,254 approximately).
The man, identified as MD Sharif by the Delhi Police, has been booked for impersonation and theft, along with his lakhs-worth bill.
Sharif reportedly stayed at the five-star luxury hotel for four months, and left with out informing hotel staff of his departure. A case was registered against Sharif by the hotel management staff on Saturday.
Working for the UAE office of Sheikh Falah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan
According to the complaint filed by the hotel staff, Sharif reportedly told hotel officials that he lived in the UAE and worked with the Office of Sheikh Falah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is a member of the royal family of Abu Dhabi.
The police then said he produced a false business card, a UAE resident card and other documents, all of which are currently being investigated.
Sharif, who stayed at room number 427, checked in on August 1 and was last seen to have resided until November 20, around 1PM in 2022.
“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 FIR case read according to a report by The Indian Express, adding that 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.”
Adding to his narrative, Sharif also told hotel staff that he worked with the Sheikh personally, and was in India for official work.
He would talk to the staff and tell them about his “work and life in the UAE”. To gain their trust, he spoke about the royal family to look “influential”, The Indian Express reported, citing Delhi Police.
Bounced cheques
The total bill of the room and other amenities added up to ₹35 lakhs, the police said, adding that Sharif paid almost ₹11.5 lakhs to stay at the hotel for a longer period but later left without paying a majority of the amount.
“We don’t think his ID cards are genuine and he is not related to the royal family in Abu Dhabi. We are checking if he has done this before. He paid part of the bill in August-September last year and later gave the hotel a cheque of ₹20 lakhs. The cheque was submitted in November and it was found that it bounced due to insufficient funds,” the report said, citing a senior police officer.
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