Theft at star hotel, NRI files police complaint

An NRI filed a theft complaint on April 9 against the management and security staff of a star hotel in Central Bengaluru where he was staying.

Baba Sait Abdullah (51), a businessman from Canada, had come for his son’s engagement. He was staying at the Taj on MG Road since April 6. Abdullah’s 15,000 USD worth Rs 10.5 lakh and 100 Canadian dollars worth Rs 5,000 along with his Canadian health card, Canadian driving licence and credit card were stolen.

Abdullah and family had booked two rooms, 207 and 202, for their stay.

“On April 9, around 11 am, we left for shopping for my son’s engagement and returned around 6.30 pm to find our valuables missing. We had even put a DND (Do Not Disturb) sticker on the door, taking along with us the room keys. But the hotel staff had opened the room for cleaning,” Abdullah told DH.

‘Staff was rude’

When Abdullah asked the hotel staff why they had entered the room despite the DND sticker, demanding to view the CCTV footage, the staff turned rude and told him to do whatever he wanted to.

Abdullah said he was sure it was some of the hotel staff who were behind the theft. When he was going to the police, the staff came for a compromise that they could do away with the bills for their three-day stay.

Abdullah was firm about getting his belongings back as his health card and driving licence were important documents. He then filed a complaint with the Halasuru police station. The police have taken up a case of theft and are analysing CCTV footage to trace the culprit.

When asked about the incident, a spokesperson of the hotel said: “We are cooperating with the investigation and the authorities.”

At another star hotel...

This is the second such incident reported from star hotels in the city in recent times.

On April 4, a woman, Tanvi Maheshwari, registered a complaint with the High Grounds police, complaining that she had lost two diamond rings at a washroom in the Lalit Ashok in Central Bengaluru.