A 69-year-old man from Tamil Nadu has been arrested for allegedly defrauding over 300 luxury hotels across India in the past three decades. He used fake identities and left without paying his bills, police said.
The accused, Bingson John, allegedly posed as a foreign tourist guide, an English teacher, or a yoga trainer to check into five-star hotels. Police said he would stay for several days, use the hotel's facilities, and then disappear without paying the bill.
Sometimes, he also allegedly took valuable hotel property with him.
His latest target was the Hyatt Hotel in Raipur, where he stayed for two days, left without paying a bill of Rs 63,755, and took away a laptop worth around Rs 1.48 lakh, police said.
After receiving a complaint from the hotel, the Anti-Crime and Cyber Unit and Telibandha police launched an investigation. They analysed the accused's mobile phone records, documents, and other technical evidence before tracing his location to Bhubaneswar in Odisha. A Raipur Police team arrested him within 72 hours and recovered the stolen laptop, which he had taken from the hotel for “office work”.
During questioning, John allegedly admitted that he had used the same method to cheat more than 300 luxury hotels across the country since 1990.
Earlier in 2022, he was arrested by police near Kollam Railway Station in Kerala after a five-star hotel in Thiruvananthapuram complained that the man had stayed there but left without paying his bill.
Police said he checked into the hotel, behaved like a respectable guest, and impressed the staff so much that they did not ask him to pay any advance. After staying there, he allegedly left without paying and also stole a laptop from the hotel. A court sent him to 14 days of judicial custody.
John studied in an English-medium school and never got married. In the 1980s, he worked as a tourist guide in Delhi. As part of his job, many hotels allowed him to stay for free when he accompanied tourists.
During questioning, he told police that one day he was insulted by the staff of a luxury hotel after something went wrong, and from then on, he decided to target expensive hotels, according to a report.
Police said the accused was first arrested in 1996 and went to Tihar Jail and later spent nearly 15 years in prisons in different states, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka. During interrogation, he told investigators that he was influenced by the methods of notorious serial killer and conman Charles Sobhraj while lodged in Tihar Jail.
John adopted Sobhraj's use of fake identities and deception to cheat hotels.
The investigators said the accused would travel to a new city after being released from jail, check into a five-star hotel using a fake identity, stay for a few days, enjoy the facilities, and then leave without paying the bill.
Raipur Police are now verifying his criminal record and collecting details of cases registered against him in different states. The accused has been produced before a court, and further investigation is underway.
