The visitor who by no means checked out: How one man spent 30 years outwitting luxurious lodges | India Information
On the face of it, he gave the impression to be the proper visitor: a 69-year-old silver-haired, English-speaking man from Tamil Nadu who was well mannered and suave, mixing in completely at a luxurious lodge in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur. So, when he walked out of the sprawling seven-storeyed lodge on the afternoon of June 25 with two duffle baggage, he raised no suspicion. That’s, till they realised he hadn’t paid.
They aren’t the one ones. Final week, the Raipur Police arrested Vincent John, a person from Thoothukudi district in Tamil Nadu who claims to have scammed tons of of lodges during the last 30 years with precisely the identical modus operandi: checking into luxurious lodges, having fun with their opulence for days, and quietly sneaking out — all with out paying. Police data present that he has circumstances throughout West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Jharkhand, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, the Union Territory of Delhi and Chhattisgarh, and has been arrested a number of instances: together with as soon as by the Delhi Police in 2016 and once more in Navi mumbai in 2020.
Typically, he would sneak out with valuables from the lodge, resembling the Rs 1.48 lakh laptop computer he had allegedly slipped into his bag earlier than leaving the Raipur lodge. “John had develop into so informal about it that he boasts of stealing valuables from over 300 luxurious lodges,” a Raipur police officer mentioned. “He instructed us he frolicked in Tihar jail and heard tales of Charles Sobhraj. He preferred how crafty he was.”
The visitor who by no means paid
Born in Thoothukudi district in Tamil Nadu, John studied in an English-medium college and by no means married. Investigators mentioned John instructed them they started working as a vacationer information in Delhi within the Nineteen Eighties, which helped him get free lodge stays as a part of his perks.
“He instructed us that after one thing went fallacious and he was humiliated by the administration of a luxurious lodge. Since then, he nursed a grudge and commenced focusing on these high-end locations,” sub-inspector Piyush Baghel, the investigating officer within the case, instructed The Indian Specific.
He was booked and arrested by the Delhi Police for the primary time in 1996. Based on the police, he would test in as an English trainer, a tour information or a yoga teacher. He would allegedly arrive with two baggage — one carrying his belongings, the opposite filled with newspapers or pillows.
“He would by no means permit the lodge workers to hold his baggage,” the officer mentioned. “To evade suspicion, he typically left one bag — the one with the newspapers — within the lodge so folks wouldn’t suppose he was leaving. He would all the time smuggle out costly liquor, cigarettes or valuables like laptops, promoting them later.”
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Whereas he initially used his Aadhaar card to test in, he later switched to photocopies after the doc was confiscated by the Andhra Pradesh Police.
Based on investigators, John checked right into a five-star lodge in Raipur on June 25 posing as an occasion organiser. “He’s fluent in talking English. He additionally sweet-talked one of many staffers into giving him a laptop computer. He instructed the staffer he had good contacts within the lodge trade and would get him a greater job,” one officer mentioned.
On the lodge, he ordered some foreign-made cigarettes and an costly bottle of liquor “although he doesn’t drink or smoke”.
“After staying for 2 days, John went to the reception and mentioned he wished to ebook one other room for his son, who can be coming the subsequent morning. On each days, John left the lodge for ‘some work’ and returned, which didn’t increase any alarm,” the officer mentioned.
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Among the many circumstances in opposition to him was his 2016 fraud on the Resort Crowne Plaza in New Delhi’s Okhla.
Nonetheless, on the morning of June 27, John quietly slipped out of the lodge. CCTV footage within the foyer reveals him strolling out with two baggage, one in his hand and the opposite slung over his shoulder. The invoice got here to Rs 63,755.
Based on investigators, John offered the cigarettes and the liquor bottle earlier than fleeing. After discovering his cellular numbers switched off, lodge authorities approached the native police, who discovered that he had first taken a prepare to Bilaspur after which one other to Bhubaneswar, the place he was arrested on July 2.
“He instructed us he stayed in one other four-star lodge in Raipur throughout the pandemic. We contacted the lodge, however they don’t have any document,” the officer mentioned, including, “Luxurious lodges are likely to keep away from submitting police complaints over small quantities, fearing it might compromise their status.”
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John had been profiting from his age, one investigator mentioned. The police additionally declare they “didn’t deal with him like different criminals”.
“After we questioned him, he seemed apologetic and promised this was his final time. He mentioned he had 10 acres of ancestral land, and that he deliberate to settle in an old-age dwelling in Goa,” Assistant Commissioner of Police Ramakant Sahu mentioned. It’s a narrative he had already instructed different police departments earlier than, the officer claims. “I don’t imagine him.”
