Delhi: Man Who Duped 5-Star Hotel Of Rs 23 Lakh Posing As UAE Royal Family Aide Arrested

Besides cheating the hotel of Rs 23.46 lakh, accused Mahamed Shareef decamped with valuables, including silver bottle holders and the mother of a pearl tray, as per the police.

New Delhi: A man, who pretended to be an official of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) royal family and stayed at a five-star hotel in Delhi for about three months last year, was arrested earlier this week. Mahamed Shareef, 41, was apprehended from his residence in Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka on January 19 for fleeing with an outstanding bill of over Rs 23 lakh. Shareef checked into The Leela Palace, New Delhi on August 1 last year and presented a fake business card. He was staying in room number 427 for about three months and fled on November 20 without paying the bills.

"A case under sections 419/420/380 IPC was registered at PS Sarojini Nagar on the complaint of Anupam Das Gupta who alleged that he is the General Manager of The Leela Hotel Palace, Sarojini Nagar, Delhi and the accused person namely Mahamed Sharif stayed at The Leela Palace, New Delhi from 1st August 2022 and he ran off from the hotel on November 20, 2022, with hotel valuables and without settling his outstanding bills," the police informed, as per news agency ANI.

Besides cheating the hotel of Rs 23.46 lakh, he decamped with valuables, including silver bottle holders and the mother of a pearl tray, as per the police.

According to PTI, the accused impersonated an important functionary of the “Office of His Highness Sheikh Falah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan” of the UAE government and gave a fake business card. The police stated that he also provided a UAE resident card on arrival at the hotel.

“It seems the guest purposely gave these cards to create a false image and garner extra trust with an intent to cheat and deceive the hotel at a later stage,” the management of the hotel has said in its complaint to the police.

“The guest had made a few part settlements in August and September 2022 worth Rs 11.5 lakh for room charges. However, the total outstanding still stands at Rs 23,48,413 against which he had issued a post-dated cheque worth Rs 20 lakh due on November 21, 2022, which was duly submitted to our bank on September 22, 2022, but due to insufficient funds, the cheque bounced,” it had said.

Last year, on November 20, at around 1 pm, Shareef fled the hotel with valuables, senior police officials told PTI. 

According to the complainant hotel, “This seems to be completely pre-planned since we were under the impression that by November 22, 2022, the hotel will get the dues cleared through the cheque he had submitted.”

“This clearly signifies that Mr Shareef had mala fide intentions and a clear intent to deceive hotel authorities. This is a clear case of theft, cheating and fraud against The Leela Palace, New Delhi,” it further stated.