Man arrested for cheating Delhi's five-star hotel, fleeing without paying bill

The accused, a resident of Ghaziabad, allegedly booked two rooms at ITC Maurya on May 28.

A 29-year-old man, who stayed with his family at a luxury hotel near the Capital’s diplomatic enclave but refused to pay his bill that ran into lakhs, has been arrested on charges of cheating, Delhi Police officers aware of the matter said on Thursday.

When the guest breached the credit policy on May 31, the hotel authorities approached him for the payment. (Representational Image)

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The accused, a resident of Ghaziabad, allegedly booked two rooms at ITC Maurya on May 28, and availed hotel services with an agreement to pay the dues on May 31, the hotel’s assistant manager Anand Bhardwaj said in his statement to police.

When the guest breached the credit policy on May 31, the hotel authorities approached him for the payment, Bhardwaj said. At first, the man evaded the payment, and then showed hotel staff unique transaction reference (UTR) numbers of payments he allegedly made, Bhardwaj said, adding that these transactions later turned out to be fake.

Meanwhile, Bhardwaj alleged in his complaint, the man continued availing food from the coffee bar, and drinks from the minibar, while promising to pay by June 3. When he breached that day as well, the complaint said, the man was called to the hotel’s conference room for a meeting, where, Bhardwaj alleged, the man abused the hotel staff and damaged a glass table.

The police were subsequently informed upon which a case was registered and the guest arrested, said a police officer.

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HT reached out to Bhardwaj, but he refused to comment on the matter. Manvi Chopra, the PR and marketing communications manager for the hotel, said, “The case is under investigation. Hence we would not like to comment any further.”