Delhi: Man stays at 5-star hotel for 2 years without payment, FIR filed
New Delhi (PTI): A five-star hotel here has alleged to have suffered a loss of Rs 58 lakh when one of its guests colluded with some hotel staff and stayed for almost two years without making any payment.
The hotel, Roseate House in Aerocity near the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, has lodged a case at IGI Airport police station.
According to the FIR lodged recently by Vinod Malhotra, an authorised representative of Bird Airports Hotel Private Limited, which operates Roseate, guest Ankush Dutta stayed for 603 days which cost Rs 58 lakh but checked out without paying a single penny.
The FIR alleges that Prem Prakash, head of Front Office Department of the hotel, who was authorised to decide room rates and had access to the hotel computer system to track dues of all guests, allowed Dutta's long stay violating the hotel norms.
The hotel management suspects that Prakash might have received some cash amount from Dutta for letting him overstay by manipulating its in-house software system that maintains and monitors stay/visit of guests and their accounts.
"A criminal conspiracy was hatched by guest Mr Ankush Dutta along with some known and unknown hotel staff, including Mr Prem Prakash with a motive to gain wrongfully and deprive the hotel of its rightful dues," the FIR said.
"In pursuance of the said conspiracy, the alleged staff of the hotel forged, deleted, added accounts entries and falsified a large number of entries in the account of the said guest Ankush Dutta in the Opera software system of the hotel," it added.
The hotel has alleged that Dutta checked in on May 30, 2019 and booked a room for one night. He was supposed to check out the very next day on May 31 but he kept on extending his stay till January 22, 2021.
The hotel norm says that if a guest's pending outstanding dues exceed 72 hours, it should be brought to the notice of CEO and Financial Controller for their information and seeking instruction. However, Prakash didn't send Dutta's dues to the CEO and FC of the hotel.
According to the FIR, Prakash didn't make any outstanding payment report from May 30, 2019 to October 25, 2019. Even when he created the outstanding payment report after October 25, he forged it by clubbing pending bills of other unrelated guests into one bill with the motive to camouflage the pending dues of Dutta.
The hotel has alleged that Prakash resorted to various modus operandi to help Dutta enjoy a long stay there. He even fudged the account to show that other guests, who stayed in the hotel, paid for Dutta which turned out to be fabricated.
"The scrutiny of record of the alleged officials of the hotel revealed that they created several fake and false pending bills to benefit Ankush Dutta by adopting various ways like by removing room nights from his bills, transferring his debits into the bills of other guests' bills, using settled bills of other guests by incorporating his name in the bill, etc," the FIR said.
The hotel also noticed that Dutta paid three cheques of Rs 10 lakh, Rs 7 lakh and Rs 20 lakh at different dates but all of them bounced and Prakash didn't bring this fact to the notice of the hotel management.
The hotel has demanded a strict legal action against the culprits as "they have committed criminal offences, criminal breach of trust, cheating, forgery and falsification of accounts".
A preliminary inquiry by the IGI police showed that prima facie the offences were made out, and now they are further probing the matter.
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Rahul's exhilarating 152 powers DC to 264/2
New Delhi (PTI): KL Rahul blended grace with power to script a stroke-filled 152, the third-highest individual IPL score, while Nitish Rana (91) batted with authority as the duo powered hosts Delhi Capitals to a mammoth 264 for 2 against Punjab Kings here on Saturday.
Setting a target for the first time this season, the Capitals came out with clear intent, attacking anything in their arc from the outset.
The home team hit a total of 29 fours and 13 sixes to put on board the highest total of the 2026 IPL season.
Striking at over 200 throughout the 20 overs, Rahul (152 off 67 balls) unfurled a range of classical strokes all around the ground, seamlessly combining timing with aggression to put up the highest-score ever by an Indian in the IPL.
With the knock, he also became only the third player to go beyond 150-run mark after Chris Gayle (175) and Brendon McCullum (158).
Dropped on 18 by Shashank Singh, he made full use of the reprieve, forging a 220-run stand with local boy Rana for the second wicket. It was second biggest stand in IPL history behind 229 set by Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.
Rana looked completely at ease on his home ground. His 44-ball knock, laced with 11 fours and 4 sixes, provided the perfect foil as the duo kept the scoreboard ticking at a brisk pace.
Rahul set the tone early, striking back-to-back boundaries in the second over before Pathum Nissanka chipped in with a crisp four.
Although Punjab struck an early blow with Nissanka top-edging to the keeper, their bowlers found little respite thereafter. They were also guilty of a few misfields, which only added to their woes.
Rahul and Rana seized control, punishing anything loose and propelling Delhi to 68 for one, DC's best powerplay score of the season before plundering 145 runs in the middle overs.
Rana then shifted gears in spectacular fashion, taking apart Australian pacer Xavier Bartlett in the 12th over for 28 runs.
The left-hander dealt exclusively in boundaries, smashing two sixes and four fours in a sequence of 6,4,4,4,4,6.
At the other end, Rahul was equally ruthless, taking a liking to Vijaykumar Vyshak in the 16th over, from which he plundered three sixes and a four, as Delhi tightened their grip on the contest.
