Man lodges in 5-Star hotel for 2 years, accumulates up bill of ₦57 Million, disappears without paying

The hotel management accused Ankush Dutta of fraud after he remained at a five-star hotel in Delhi for nearly two years without paying his bill.

The Roseate House hotel near the airport filed a lawsuit against Dutta and some of his employees for allegedly conspiring with him to avoid payment.

Dutta booked into the hotel on May 30, 2019, with a scheduled check-out the next day.

He did, however, extend his stay by a whopping 603 nights, ultimately leaving on 22 January 2021. During his stay, he accumulated nearly N57 million in unpaid debts.

The hotel administration claimed that Dutta and the staff collaborated to conceal his increasing bills by altering records and deleting entries.

According to hotel policy, if a guest owed more than N300,000, the personnel should notify senior management in order to pursue payment. However, it is thought that the workers engaged broke this guideline.

Furthermore, the hotel stated that Dutta presented fraudulent receipts and three uncashable cheques.

According to the police complaint, Dutta and the hotel personnel used different techniques to avoid paying the bills, such as erasing entries, fabricating reports, supplying counterfeit cheques and documents, and manipulating the hotel’s electronic system.

he police complaint read: “The guest and the staffers resorted to several ways to avoid paying bills. They owe more than Rs 58 lakh to the hotel. They deleted entries, forged reports, gave forged cheques and documents, and cheated the hotel by misusing its electronic system.”

As a result, a case was registered against Dutta and several hotel employees, including the head of the hotel’s front office department, Prem Prakash, on charges of conspiracy, forgery, and cheating.

The police suspect that Prakash forged the records and deliberately omitted Dutta’s name from daily reports that detailed his hotel bills.

“We believe Prakash forged the records. He even removed Dutta’s names from daily reports where his hotel bills were stated.” He said.

Efforts are currently underway to locate Dutta, who is believed to have defrauded multiple other hotels in India.

The Roseate House hotel, known for its luxury accommodations, offers rooms starting from N80,000 per night.