Honcho arrest: Noose tightens on hotel

Bhubaneswar: After the arrest of Deccan Chronicle group vice-chairman P.K. Iyer in connection with a Rs 357-crore bank loan fraud case, the Commissionerate Police has now tightened the noose on the city-based five-star hotel Trident where the accused was hiding using a fake identity for past few months.

According to sources, a case has also been registered against the hotel management. “The hotel authorities have been booked for providing accommodation to a wanted criminal for months without properly verifying his identity,” explained deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi.

“The hotel staff failed to verify information about a person before providing a room in the hotel which is illegal and in violation of provisions in Sarais Act and Section 188 of Indian Penal Code and Section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure,” he added.

Iyer was arrested from the hotel in the wee hours of Sunday and handed over to the CBI. According to sources, the accused was staying in room No.220 of the starred hotel under the assumed female name of Chitra Athwani since May 17.

The possibility of a criminal conspiracy hatched by the hotel management to harbour Iyer, against whom the CBI had registered a fraud case, also cannot be ruled out, Bhoi added.