Woman With ₹41 Bank Balance Dupes Delhi Luxury Hotel Of Almost ₹6 Lakh

A woman guest from Andhra Pradesh was arrested for scamming a Delhi-based luxury hotel of Rs 5.8 lakh. After weeks of investigation, police revealed that she had only Rs 41 in her bank account. Jhansi Rani Samuel was arrested for beating the cheque at the Pullman Hotel located in Aerocity, after staying there for over two weeks. The hotel authorities in their complaint alleged that Samuel used a fake ID and fraudulent payment methods and fled when requested to clear the bill. 

Hotel authorities also alleged that she manhandled the staff before running away. Samuel was later found and taken into police custody for interrogation. Police said the woman's motive behind the scam could not be ascertained so far. 

Andhra Woman; 37 Booked For Cheating 

The woman checked in on December 13 and has been staying in a luxury 5-star hotel, Pullman Hotel in Aerocity ever since. After staying in the hotel for over two weeks, the hotel staff claimed the guest to be a 'Skipper,' who ran away from the hotel without paying bills. Her bill amounted to Rs 5.8 lakhs as she had availed spa facilities and other services that cost over Rs 2 lakh.

Hotel officials told the police that when Samuel was asked to clear her bills, she claimed that she paid it through a UPI app, but as the payment reconciled, the hotel staff noticed that there had been no payments made and requested her to present her bank statement for verification. 

The woman, according to the hotel's staff, refused to show her bank statement and attempted to flee the hotel manhandling a female security staff of the hotel. However, the accused was detained by the police on January 13 and was taken for further questioning where she claimed that she had made the payment through a virtual credit card. "It is suspected that the app she used was dubious," a Delhi Police official told Asian News International.

As the interrogation is still under probe, a case has been registered at IGI Airport Police Station under Sections 419 (punishment for cheating by impersonation), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Indian Penal Code.