Three hotels, estimated to be worth over Rs 7 crore, continue to run in Paharganj area, even as their owner is being questioned by sleuths from the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB). The owner, a Delhi Police inspector, has been charged with “amassing assets disproportionate to his income.”

In addition to the hotels, the accused, Inspector Roshan Lal, allegedly owns a cinema hall, (Laxmi Talkies) in Farrukabad in Uttar Pradesh, and several plots in NCR region and Uttar Pradesh, taking his net worth to over Rs 20 crore.

On Wednesday, sleuths from the ACB questioned Lal at their office in Civil Lines. Deputy Commissioner of Police (ACB), I D Shukla, confirmed that he was being questioned, but said that “no arrests have been made.”

Sleuths said that he is cooperating with the investigations. Several raids are being conducted in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Delhi.

Outside the ACB office, Lal’s brother, Vinod said, “All allegations are baseless. We were in Canada and had returned just five years back. The property bought here is from the money earned in Canada.” Lal’s father, Rajender Lal, was reportedly in the hotel business in Canada.

This is not the first time that Lal is under scanner. A demolition order was passed against one of his hotels in Paharganj, Hotel Silver Shine, in 2007. The building still stands.

The licensing branch of Delhi Police is supposed to maintain a database of all hotels and owners. A police verification of the owners is also mandatory. Lal purportedly owns three hotels, Hotel India International near Imperial Cinema, Hotel Silver Shine near Sant Rashan Chowk and Karlo Kastle near Gandhi Bazaar.

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