Ankush Dutta, an individual who stayed at a five-star hotel in Delhi for nearly two years without paying his bill, has been accused of fraud by the hotel management. The Roseate House hotel near the international airport filed a complaint against Dutta and some of its staff members for allegedly colluding with him to evade payment. Dutta initially checked into the hotel on 30 May 2019 with a scheduled check-out the following day. However, he extended his stay for a staggering 603 nights, finally leaving on 22 January 2021. During his stay, he accumulated unpaid bills amounting to over N57 million. The hotel management alleged that Dutta conspired with the staff to hide his mounting bills by manipulating accounts and deleting entries. Hotel rules dictated that if a guest owed more than N300,000, the staff should inform senior management to pursue payment. However, it is believed that this rule was violated by the staff involved. Additionally, the hotel claimed that Dutta provided fake receipts and three cheques that were unable to be cashed. The police complaint stated that Dutta and the hotel staff resorted to various methods to avoid paying the bills, including deleting entries, forging reports, providing counterfeit cheques and documents, and exploiting the hotel’s electronic system. The 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.
