Hunt on to trace man who posed as UAE govt official, fled 5-star hotel without paying Rs 23L bill
New Delhi (PTI): Police are on the lookout for a man who stayed at a Delhi five-star hotel for four months by posing as a senior functionary of the UAE royal family and fled without paying bills worth more than Rs 23 lakh, officials said on Tuesday.
The accused, Mahamed Shareef, had checked into the Leela Palace-New Delhi on August 1 last year. He was staying in room number 427 and fled from the hotel on November 20, they said.
He, besides cheating the hotel of Rs 23.46 lakh in outstanding bills, also decamped with valuables, including silver bottle holders and a mother of pearl tray, police said.
Shareef checked into the hotel by impersonating an important functionary of the UAE government's 'Office of His Highness Sheikh Falah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan' and giving a fake business card, according to police. They said that he also gave 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 hotel management said in its complaint.
"The guest had also made a few part settlements in the month of August and September 2022 worth 11.5 lakhs for room charges, the total outstanding still stands at Rs 23,48,413 against which he had issued a post-dated cheque worth Rs 20 lakhs due for November 21, 2022 which was duly submitted to our bank on September 22, 2022, but due to insufficient funds the cheque bounced," it said.
On November 20 last year, around 1 pm, the man fled from the hotel with valuables, a senior police official said.
The complainant said, "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 malafide 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," the complaint stated.
Footage from CCTV cameras, installed inside and outside the hotel's premises, is being checked to ascertain Shareef's activities, the official said.
"Multiple teams have been formed to trace the accused man. We have not been able to establish his occupation yet and are working to gather his personal details. We have put his phone number on surveillance to get his last location," he said.
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'Key operator' of international gold smuggling racket brought to India from UAE: CBI
New Delhi, Sep 10: A key operator of an international gold smuggling racket with an Interpol Red Notice against him was brought from the UAE on Tuesday in an operation coordinated by the CBI with the NIA and Interpol, officials said.
Muniyad Ali Khan is the third fugitive in the case who was successfully brought back to India, they said.
Khan landed at the Jaipur airport from the UAE and was arrested by the NIA, the officials said.
In the case probed by the NIA, it was alleged that Khan had conspired in the illegal smuggling of gold bars from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, into India along with other accused, a CBI spokesperson said here.
Two co-accused in the case, Shokat Ali and Mohabbat Ali, were brought from Saudi Arabia on April 03, 2024 and August 17, 2023, respectively in an operation coordinated by the Global Operations Centre of the CBI with Interpol NCB-Riyadh and the NIA.
It is alleged that Khan along with the co-accused had provided gold bars to be smuggled from Riyadh into Jaipur.
Gold bars weighing 18.56 kilograms worth Rs 9 crore in the market were seized while being smuggled into the country at the Jaipur airport from Saudi Arabia in 2020 as part of the "criminal conspiracy to derail the country's economic security and monetary stability", the NIA said in a statement on August 17, 2023.
The bars had been concealed inside a battery of emergency lights for smuggling into India, the statement had said.
"He (Khan) is involved in international gold smuggling from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to Jaipur, India. The subject was charge-sheeted by the NIA on March 22, 2021, before the NIA Special Court, Jaipur. He was wanted for criminal conspiracy for offences under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act," the spokesperson said.
The CBI got a Red Notice issued against Khan from Interpol on September 13, 2021, at a request of the NIA which was circulated to all law enforcement agencies globally for tracking of the wanted criminal.
The Red Notice resulted in locating Khan in the UAE.
"The CBI as National Central Bureau for Interpol in India coordinates closely with all law enforcement agencies in India for cooperation over Interpol channels," he said.
