Youth stay at Gurugram hotel without paying over Rs 6-lakh bill; sends 'fake payment' screenshots

Gurugram, Feb 26 (PTI) In a peculiar case of fraud, a young man allegedly stayed at a hotel accommodation here for around five months without paying a penny, apparently sending screenshots of "fake payments" to the tune of Rs 6 lakhs to the hotel operator, police said on Thursday.

When the operator later checked the bank statement, no money had been credited in the account, they said, adding that an FIR was subsequently registered at Sector 53 police station and the accused was arrested.

According to the police, the accused -- Himanshu (26), a resident of Sohna -- has a postgraduate degree in computer applications and was working to promote a YouTube channel on the 'My Fame' app.

According to the complaint filed by Tapish Kumar, operator of a hotel and service apartment establishment located on Golf Course Road in DLF Phase 5, Himanshu had been living in the hotel since October 2025. Until February 24, the accused made 16 payments to the operator as charges for the accommodation and shared screenshots of each payment via WhatsApp.

However, all of these payments were allegedly fraudulent. "When we checked our firm's bank account, we found that no payment had been received. Himanshu was asked for his bank statement, but he refused to provide it and left the hotel on February 24," the complaint read.

The accused had incurred a bill of Rs 6.17 lakh for his stay at the hotel, none of which was paid, the complainant alleged.

Following the complaint, an FIR was registered at Sector 53 police station and police arrested the accused on Wednesday from DLF Phase 5 area.

According to police, during interrogation, the accused revealed that he came across a video on YouTube about a fake PhonePe application. It showed how one could fake PhonePe payments and make them appear as if money had been credited to the receiver.

"He installed the fake PhonePe application in which only the scanner works, while all other features are inactive. He stayed at the hotel from October 2025 to February 2026 and sent screenshots of 16 false transactions to the hotel manager and committed a fraud of over Rs 6 lakh," a Gurugram police spokesperson said.

The accused's mobile phone has been confiscated and further investigation is ongoing, police said, adding that the accused was produced in a city court on Thursday which sent him to judicial custody. ARB ARB