₹22-lakh hotel bills not paid, CITCO to auction cars of 2 bizmen
Hotel Shivalikview, which is run by CITCO, has set the base price of the Audi Q3 car at ₹10 lakh, whereas the Chevrolet Cruze will be auctioned at the base price of ₹1.5 lakh
To make up for its loss, Hotel Shivalikview will be auctioning off two luxury cars that were confiscated in 2018 from two Punjab-based businessmen after they failed to clear their bills of ₹11 lakh each.
Hotel Shivalikview, which is run by the Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Corporation (CITCO), has set the base price of the Audi Q3 car at ₹10 lakh, the original cost of which is around ₹55 lakh, whereas the Chevrolet Cruze, which originally cost around ₹15 lakh, will be auctioned at the base price of ₹1.5 lakh. The auction will be held at the hotel on February 14.
Businessmen Ashwani Chopra of Ludhiana and Ramnik Bansal of Ferozepur were known to each other, but were staying in separate rooms of the hotel after checking in on April 4, 2018. They stayed in the suites till October 13, 2018, and enjoyed various hotel services like food, laundry, hard drinks, etc. They, however, stopped paying their bill after July 15, despite repeated reminders by the hotel staff.
Bansal had also issued three cheques for ₹6 lakh each, but these were dishonoured with the remarks of “insufficient funds” and “drawer signature differs”.
Looking at the outstanding bills of ₹22 lakh and the duo’s adamant behaviour against vacating rooms, the hotel authorities had called the police for further investigation on October 12.
The next day, when Bansal tried to flee without making the payment, the hotel security closed the exit gates. Bansal then handed over the keys of his Audi Q3 car and asked the staff to keep it as security for the outstanding amount.
Chopra had also handed over the keys of his Chevrolet Cruze (PB-10CF-0009) to the hotel staff and assured that he would clear all dues.
Later, a two-member committee was constituted to look into the lapses on part of officials for non-payment of ₹22 lakh bill by the two businessmen.
The report by CITCO officials Rajneesh Diwan and Maninder Singh had pointed to “serious lapses” by six officials, and ordered a 50% cut from front office manager Deepak Chibber’s salary.
Also, Raman Sethi, guest relations executive; Bhuneshwar Sharma, relations executive and three receptionists were asked to pay 25%.