Leela Hotel cheating case: Delhi Court grants bail to man posing as UAE official

New Delhi [India], February 2 (ANI): A Delhi Court on Thursday granted bail to Mahamed Sharif, the accused in the Leela Hotel cheating case.

Sharif allegedly posed as an official of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government at the Leela Hotel and duped it of over Rs 20 lakh after checking out undetected without clearing the outstanding bill. The Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala on Thursday while granting bail said, “considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the applicant Mahamed Sharif is
admitted to bail on furnishing bail bond in the sum of Rs 50,000 with one like amount surety.”

Court noted that the present FIR was registered as the accused ran away without settling outstanding dues for his stay in the Hotel Leela Palace, New Delhi.
According to the complainant Hotel, the accused has already settled the outstanding dues.

“No custodial interrogation is stated to be required by the investigating agency. He is in Judicial Custody since January 19, 2023, and he is not required for any investigation purposes, therefore, no useful purpose is going to be served by keeping the applicant further in Judicial Custody,” the court noted.
Earlier complainant while lodging the complaint stated that the accused fled with hotel valuables without settling his outstanding bills causing a huge loss to the hotel worth Rs 23,46,413.

Following the incident, the police registered the FIR on January 14 this year at Sarojini Nagar police station at the complaint of Anupam Das Gupta, who claimed to be the General Manager of The Leela Hotel Palace, Sarojini Nagar, Delhi.
Gupta in his complaint alleged that the accused person namely Mahamed Sharif stayed at The Leela Palace, New Delhi from August 1, 2022, and he ran off from the hotel on November 20, 2022, with hotel valuables and without settling his outstanding bills.

A case under sections 419/420/380 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered at the Sarojini Nagar Police Station on the basis of the complaint.