On Saturday, January 14, the management team at Delhi’s The Leela Palace Hotel lodged a complaint against a man named Mahamed Sharif for vanishing without settling his bills of Rs 23.46 lakh.
The hotel said that the man posed as a United Arab Emirates resident and employee of the Royal family of Abu Dhabi and allegedly cheated the Leela Palace Hotel in the capital by staying on its premises for over four months. The Delhi Police are now looking for Mohammed Sharif.
Delhi | A man, Mahamed Sharif, ran off from Leela Palace hotel without settling outstanding bills of Rs 23.46 lakh after staying from Aug 1 to Nov 20,last yr. He checked into hotel with fake business card impersonating as important functionary of UAE govt; he’s untraceable:Police
— ANI (@ANI) January 17, 2023
According to the hotel authorities, Mahamad Sharif checked into Room 427 of the five-star hotel on August 1, 2022, and left quietly on November 20, 2022, without informing anyone. The man also allegedly stole silverware, a mother-of-pearls tray and other items from the hotel room, raking up a bill of over Rs 23 lakhs.
“This seems to be completely pre-planned since we were under the impression that by 22nd November 2022, the hotel will get dues cleared through the cheque he had submitted. This clearly signifies that Mr Sharif had malafide intentions and a clear intent to deceive hotel authorities…” said the complainant.
When Sharif arrived at the hotel in August, he informed the staff that he was a UAE resident who worked closely with Sheikh Falah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the Abu Dhabi royal family.
He told that he personally worked with the Sheikh and was in India on official business. To back up his claim, he provided a business card, a UAE resident card, and other documents. He often spoke with the hotel staff about his life in the UAE in a bid to sell his story.
The overall cost of the accommodation and additional facilities was Rs 35 lakh. According to police, Sharif paid over Rs 11.5 lakh to stay at the hotel for a longer period of time but afterwards left without paying the majority of the sum.
Now, the police are investigating the documents that the accused had shared with the hotel authorities, however, they are suspecting them to be fake.
“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 for Rs 20 lakh. The cheque was submitted in November and it was found that it bounced due to insufficient funds,” said a senior police officer.
The news of this incident sparked a slew of social media jokes and memes on social media, where Netizens mocked the hotel’s callousness by sharing hilarious memes.
— That Marine Guy 🇮🇳 (@thatmarineguy21) January 17, 2023
Leela hotel after mahamed sharif ran away: pic.twitter.com/TUaBNkDg2F
— Desi Engineer (@Engihumor) January 17, 2023
Some others wondered how the staff of an established and professional five-star hotel like Leela Palace be so reckless.
Hotel block money in credit cards then hotel let people check in.
— Fiza 🇮🇳 (@hoorsheikh_fiza) January 17, 2023
How it’s possible?
23 lakhs & hotel let him stay without paying?
How did they not take his Debit/Cr cards for guarantee or swipe money in advance. Serves them right! pic.twitter.com/dxJ6zHsJqA
— HAPPINESS🇮🇳✨ || Justice for Sushant🙏📿🔱|| (@gauahargeous20) January 17, 2023
The Leela Palace in Delhi has previously made headlines after Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s wife Sunanda Pushkar was discovered dead in mysterious conditions in the hotel’s suite number 345 in 2014. On January 17, 2014, the police sealed the room suite. The hotel administration had petitioned the court to have the suite unsealed. The court ultimately ordered the de-sealing in October 2017 after the hotel argued that the sealing of the room, which costs between Rs 55,000 and Rs 61,000 per night, had cost it more than Rs 50 lakh in those three years.
