India police probe hotel conman for 603-night free stay

Indian police are investigating a suspected fraudster who spent nearly two years in a five-star hotel without paying after reportedly bribing staff to fix records, local media said Thursday.

Ankush Dutta booked a room at Roseate House hotel in New Delhi on May 30, 2019 and was supposed to check out the next day.

But he extended his stay for 603 nights until he left out on Jan 22, 2021, leaving behind unpaid bills of US$70,000 (about RM325,500).

"Accounts were falsified to conceal the actual outstanding dues," the police complaint read, quoted by the Indian Express newspaper.

Hotel managers also filed a police complaint against several employees for conspiracy, forgery and cheating, with officials saying they suspected staff members were bribed to manipulate in-house software systems.

Roseate House officials could not immediately be reached for comment.