Man stays at Delhi hotel for 4 months posing as UAE royal staff, leaves with unpaid bills worth over Rs 23 lakh

The Leela Palace officials believe that the man had pre-planned. (Image credit: www.theleela.com)

A man allegedly scammed Delhi's The Leela Palace hotel by posing as a staff of a UAE royal family member and stayed there for over three months, The Indian Express reported. The accused, who is now missing, reportedly left the star hotel without paying a bill of over Rs. 23 lakh.

Delhi Police are on the lookout for the man, identified as Md Sharif.

Sharif stayed at the hotel in the heart of Delhi from August 1 to November 20 and left without informing anyone, according to the report citing the police. Not just that, he also allegedly stole silverware and other items from his room, the police said.

The man told the hotel that he worked for Sheikh Falah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the royal family of Abu Dhabi, The Indian Express reported, citing the complaint. He showed the hotel staff fake identify proofs while checking in.

While Sharif’s total bill at The Leela Palace was around Rs.35 lakh, he paid them Rs. 11.5 lakh before leaving the hotel.

“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 Rs 20 lakh. The cheque was submitted in November and it was found that it bounced due to insufficient funds,” the reported quoted a senior police officer as saying.

The hotel officials believe that the man had pre-planned this and told them that he intended to make the remaining payment on November 22. However, two days before that, he went missing.